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Hello!  My name is Mary Jordan and I'm excited to be back working in Frederick County!  I attended Shippensburg for my BS in Elementary Education.  I earned both my Master's at the Mount and my Reading Specialist Certification there.  Now I'll be an Intervention Teacher at Walkersville MS.
Some fun facts about me are:
*  I am from McSherrystown, PA.
*  I have a supportive husband and an adult daughter.
* We adopted Brady, a West Highland Terrier puppy, over Covid-19.
*  I have been a Notre Dame fan since I could walk! (Thanks, Dad!)
*  I love to read, cook, bake, grow plants and travel.
*  This is my 22 year of teaching!
*  Something unusual about me is I have a large family of seven siblings who are my best friends!  We enjoy vacationing together.

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(Probably the only good Selfie I have!!)

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Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that I couldn't say hello to everyone on the 5th. I've been away in Florida until just tonight, and only got back about an hour ago!! It's so nice to say hello now. My name is Waide McComas. I've lived in Hagerstown MD my entire life (though I'll be moving into Fredrick soon!) and I studied English Education at McDaniel College. I've been a substitute for two years for Washington Country, and recently decided to try my luck with FCPS! I'll be teaching 6th grade ELA at Urbana Middle, and I just can't wait to be there. For an interesting fact, I enjoy making digital art and fanfiction, and the one I work on the most is currently up to 200k words! :) I can't wait to meet you all!

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Josh Cramer. I am a lifelong resident of Frederick County having grown up in Adamstown and attended Brunswick High School. Currently, I live on the west end of Frederick City, just off the Golden Mile. I earned my AA degree at Frederick Community College. Then a BA at Shepherd University and a MA in Applied History at Shippensburg University. This will be my 13th year teaching. I began my career with FCPS, teaching at Linganore High School. I then taught for Washington County Public Schools at Smithsburg High, teaching Social Studies and English. After that, I took two years off from teaching to take a job working as a chief of staff in the Maryland State Senate. Now, I make my return to where my teaching career began, here at FCPS!
I will be teaching English 10 at Frederick High School this year. For fun, I play board games and paint miniatures. I also enjoy reading, travelling, and coffee. I am looking forward to working with you!

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I wrote a much more interesting post than this one originally, but then somehow the entire thing got deleted. So, the stripped down version: I'm originally from Ohio, and I graduated from Ohio State U. (I am NOT a Buckeyes fan though.) I was originally a newspaper reporter. I went into teaching in 2010, when I was hired by Jefferson County, WV to teach high school English. I spent my entire teaching career there until this summer, when I moved to Frederick County and got hired by FCPS.

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Howdy!  My name is Nick Palmisano  I just graduated from Towson University with an Undergrad in ELA Secondary Education and a Minor in Creative Writing.  I graduated from Eastern Technical High Schools' TAM Program in 2017  I make an hour commute to Brunswick High every day as I live in Baltimore.  I am a brand new teacher fresh out of college and am eager to begin!  I will be teaching 9th and 11th grade this year.

Something odd about me is that I have an extensive music background.  I can sing both bass and tenor and have been doing so for over 17 years.  I also have an incredible obsession with pirate lore and golden age animation history. I am also currently writing a short novel inspired by the works of Roald Dahl.

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Good morning! I'm Katie Blair, and I'm thrilled to be joining the FCPS staff this year. I am from Sykesville, Maryland in Carroll County, so I'm not far from home. I attended Frostburg State University for my bachelor's in English as well as for my MAT in Secondary Education. I am coming from Morgan County, West Virginia, where I taught seventh grade ELA for two years. In the coming year, I am going to be at Urbana High School teaching ninth grade English. (Go Hawks!) Something unusual about myself: I have 14 tattoos, and two of them are a pair of bees on my knees. (Get it?) Also, all of the tattoos on my left arm are inspired by books! I look forward to getting to know all of you and furthering my career in FCPS!

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Hi everyone! My name is Hunter Yusko. I am from Frederick, MD. I went to the University of Mount Union in Ohio for my undergrad in early childhood education with a minor in special education. I am a brand new teacher fresh out of college so I only have my field placement experience but I am so excited to be here. I am a reading intervention teacher teaching language foundations and phonics boost. Something unusal about me is I am a hippie! I love spreading love and positivity to the world and living carefree (:

I am so excited to be working for FCPS as my first job!

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My name is Deana (Dee-nuh) Munchow. I am from Littlestown, PA, but I grew up in Glen Burnie, Maryland.  I went to Towson University for both undergrad (El. Ed)and graduate school (Reading). I completed student teaching in Anne Arundel County in 1996.

I have been a teacher for 20+ years.  I started my career in homeless and outreach and was in charge of adult literacy.  I taught 4th grade in Baltimore City at Highlandtown Elementary #237.  I then taught at a juvenile detention center for two years. In 2003, I went back to public school and taught middle school ELA/Reading for Baltimore County Public Schools.

I am ecstatic to be teaching 7th/8th ELA at New Market Middle School!

Something unusual about me is that I am a special needs mom. My son, 12, has autism and numerous other disabilities.  My daughter, 20, was adopted from foster care in 2016. She is developmentally delayed and struggles with trauma-related issues. She is currently at a college in PA for students with IEP's.  Being a mom of kids with disabilities has definitely helped me be a much better teacher.

I am greatly looking forward to this year and being back in the classroom full time.

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Hi all!

I’m Jan Marcus, and I was hired Wednesday afternoon (😳!) to teach 9th and 11th grade at Linganore. I’ve been a long-term sub for two years and taught 9th grade at Tuscarora last year. I’ve also taught English & Speech for nine years at FCC, where I was also the Sports Information Director and a writing tutor, and taught three years at New Life Christian, where I was the Assistant AD, Yearbook sponsor and Sophomore class advisor. Multi-tasking! The rest of my career has been spent in higher ed administration.

Originally from Pittsburgh, I’ve got a degree in Journalism from Pitt, and a Master’s in Education from Florida State.

Interesting fact…Sports is big for me. I’ve got a Junior College World Series ring from FCC, have been the lead statistician for Shepherd University Football since 1999, and was an Official Scorer for a minor league baseball team. Getting paid to watch sports is a sweet deal!

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Hi everyone! My name is Kamryn Grosh. I'm from Smithsburg, a little farming community not far from Hagerstown. I graduated from Hood College last year in May 2020. I interned full-time in the Spring semester of 2020 at Gov. Thomas Johnson HS and worked as a resident and long-term substitute at Middletown HS during the 2020-2021 school year in Frederick County, but this is my first year teaching as a full-time English teacher. I'll be teaching English 10 & 11 at Middletown High School.

Something unusual about myself is my extensive background in martial arts - I'm certified in Kobudo and a 1st degree black belt in Karate. My dojo is actually one of the first places where I started teaching!

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Hello everyone! I'm very excited to be joining the FCPS team (hence all of the exclamation points)!
I'm a native West Virginian from the far end of the state; I could climb the hill behind my childhood home and see Kentucky. I graduated from (and later taught at) a school in southern WV, in the area that was home to the Hatfields (of the famous feud with the McCoys), the birth of modern unions (see the movie Matewan-it was just into the next county), and October Sky's real-life NASA scientist Homer Hickam, among other things. For those of you who like alternative country music, it's also part of the region Tyler Childers is from (he's a friend of the family).
I graduated from Marshall University--twice--and I'm a Herd Fan for life. We Are Marshall is the best sports movie ever made, and no one can change my mind.
I started teaching twenty years ago in Kissimmee, Fl, where I taught for three years. I moved back to West Virginia and taught for ten years at my high school alma mater before taking a job with the West Virginia Department of Education as a teacher in a juvenile placement facility working with middle and high school students while heavily utilizing  trauma-informed care. It was simultaneously the hardest and the most rewarding job of my career thus far. Two years ago (in a week), I got married to my childhood sweetheart and my kids and I moved to Lima (pronounced like the bean, not the beautiful Peruvian city), Ohio, where I taught through the COVID crisis before my wife's career brought us to Maryland.
I am currently assigned to teach eight grade English at the virtual middle school.
I am obsessed with Pop Culture, especially as it relates to 80s and 90s movies, tv, music, video games, and the like. I often respond to people with movie or song quotes and don't even realize that I have done so unless someone points it out.

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Hello! My name is Madelin Foland. I was born in Frederick but moved to Hagerstown when I was young. I graduated from Frostburg this past spring with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. I have interned in the Allegany County Public School System for the past year; however, this will be my first teaching job. For the 2021- 2022 school year I will be teaching 8th-grade reading intervention (phonics boost and language functions)  at West Frederick Middle School.

Something unusual about me is that I come from a large family. My parents do foster care so there are always babies in the house! I also have an identical twin sister!

I am very excited to begin teaching for FCPS!

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Hello! I am so excited to be joining FCPS!

My name is Hillary Barry.

I was born and raised in a small town in rural northwest Tennessee. I moved to Maryland in May right after graduation. I now live in Montgomery County with my husband.

I earned my AS General Studies in 2015 and my BS in Secondary Education English in May 2021 from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

This will be my first year teaching!

I will be teaching English 9 & English 12 this fall and English 9 Honors & English 12 in the spring.

Here are some facts about me: I am an avid reader. I love all music, but I have a real love of 60s, 70s, and 80s rock. My grandfather was a taxidermist, so from a very early age, I would hang around his shop and help a bit. I love history, and one of my favorite topics is the French Revolution. Rousseau is my maiden name and Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher around the time of the Revolution. When I visited DC a few years back, I found my name 'Rousseau' in one of the buildings and geeked out! I love traveling, exploring, and learning!

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My name is Andrew Baughman and I will be teaching 6 and 8 ELA at Urbana MS this year. I have been an educator and administrator for 20 years, most recently serving for 15 years as Director of Fine and Performing Arts at St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney, MD. While I love teaching music, drama, and video production, I am very excited to build experience teaching English this year!

My hometown is Pittsburgh, PA, though I have lived in Montgomery County and Frederick City for a long time. I studied at University of Maryland and University of the Arts (Philadelphia), and am completing my M.Ed in Instructional Technology at Moreland University. I am a member of The Dramatists Guild and have published several plays and books.

FUN FACTS: I started my career as a musical theatre actor and vocalist, and have a professional theatre company (The Landless Theatre Company) that has been based out of DC since 2003. Locally, we have produced 1776 as an annual 4th of July event at The Weinberg Center featuring the Mayor and other local luminaries, and I have appeared in the role of John Adams. I have also had the honor of co-arranging and starring in the first and only heavy metal adaptation of Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim.

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Hello! My name is Tracy Eckenrode. I am a life-long resident of Thurmont and a graduate of Catoctin High School. I have attended Ashford University, University of Phoenix, and Grand Canyon University. I have been working in education since 2004 and teaching since 2011. I started with FCPS in 2004 and then began working for MSDE in 2008 (teaching at Victor Cullen Center). I have taught English, Life Skills, Film Study, Creative Writing, and co-taught Social Studies Courses (as a sped teacher). This year I will be teaching English 10, 11 and Journalism for the Blended Virtual Program.

Something about myself...I have been married for over 20 years and have four children- all graduates of FCPS. I also have two fur babies: Josie (Boxer) and Rainey (Doberman). Of course, I love to read but I also consider myself a movie buff- I love quoting movies and I love when my students get the references. Something interesting or unusual: Virginia Kuhn Draper was my great aunt, a teacher, and local author. She kept our family records and I have been told that somewhere along the way, we are distantly related to Edgar Allen Poe….and a pirate, lol

I am so excited to be rejoining the FCPS as a teacher this time…..and to be part of a new program.

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Hi everyone! My name is Heather and I am originally from St. Mary's County and graduated from Great Mills High School. I went to WVU and got my Masters in Elementary Education and spent last year as a distance kindergarten teacher in Morgantown. My students and I remained distance for the entire school-year while other students opted to come in hybrid models for the school year. It was an excellent experience but I am so excited to see the opportunities that middle school will bring. This school year I will be doing reading intervention at West Frederick Middle School. Some interesting things about me are that I got Google Certified (Level 1) last summer and I come from a family of teachers. My grandfather was even a professor of education before retirement. I also have 3 younger brothers- 2 of them will be younger than my students (8 and 9 years old!)

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Hello! My name is Marissa Keppley. I am a Frederick County native and was lucky enough to grow up in the Myersville/Middletown area. I attended Grand Canyon University online and received my Bachelor's degree and hope to continue onto my Master's soon. This will be my first year teaching but have had the pleasure to be a long-term substitute this past Spring. I am so excited that I get to teach at Middletown Middle School this year as a 7th and 8th grade ELA teacher. Crazy to think that I attended Middletown Middle School 14 years ago. Something that not many people know about me is that I am a Type 1 Diabetic and my health is very important to me! I can't wait to meet more of my fellow teachers and start of this school year in an amazing way!

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Hello! My name is Dana Doggett (she/her). I am a Frederick County native and went through the Middletown feeder pattern.

I attended the University of South Carolina for my undergrad (Go Gamecocks!) where I earned a BA in English with a concentration in Secondary Education. I earned my Masters in the Art of Teaching through the Hagerstown satellite campus of Frostburg.

Over the past six years, I taught fourth grade, fourth grade magnet, and fourth and fifth grade magnet humanities (ELA and social studies) in Washington County. This year I will be teaching sixth grade English at West Frederick Middle School. I am so excited to return to the county where I grew up and where I currently reside!

Something unusual about me is that I'm in a virtual baking club! This month will be our one-year anniversary. Similar to the Great British Baking Show, each week we have a theme and present a bake to our fellow group members.

I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone!

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Hi!! My name is Amy Pezenosky and I am excited for the opportunity to return to the classroom:):)

A few fun facts about me:
• I am from Walkersville, Maryland where I am raising my 4 children.
• I attended Mount Saint Mary’s University where I earned my degree in Elementary Education.
• This will be my 9th year of teaching. I spent my first 8 years teaching 4th grade at Carroll Manor Elementary School.
• My current placement is 7th Grade ELA at Walkersville Middle School.

Something unusual about myself:
My 4 kids range in age from 25 to 14. In 2001, I decided to switch careers and become a daycare provider, where I had the opportunity to be at home with my own children and continue to work with preschool age children. After 20 years of being away from the classroom, I am excited to learn and grow with my students.

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Hello everyone! My name is Katie Twigg and I am so excited to be joining FCPS this year!
- I am from Maryland and grew up in the Sykesville/Glenelg area.
- I went to James Madison University in Virginia for both my BA in English and my Masters of Arts in Teaching. I also minored in special education. I just graduated this past May and am so excited to be back in Maryland!
- This will be my first year teaching!
- I will be teaching 9th and 10th grade English at Oakdale High School.
- Something unusual about me is that similar to Katherine my family has been in Maryland for quite a long time. My dad's family first settled here in 1768 and has been on the same plot of land ever since. Its called "Twiggtown" and my nana still lives there today in the original farm house.

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Hello, all. I am Patty Smith. I have lived in Rocky Ridge for over 40 years but recently made the move to Fairfield 2 years ago. I earned both my Bachelor's and Master degrees from University of Maryland. In the 20 years I have worked for FCPS, I spent the first 4 of those as a secretary at Thurmont Middle, and the last 16 years as a secretary and DLL Mentor at Catoctin High. This will be my first year as a teacher and I am doing that with the new Blended Learning Program. I will be teaching 11th and 12th grade English. Something surprising about myself is that, despite my 5 foot tall build, I owned and rode my own Harley Davidson motorcycle for 10 years. I just sold it last Spring and miss it dearly! It was so empowering for this little girl to ride her own!

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Sue- my daughters were in France in March also and I was freaking out when the travel banned happened and they were there. You probably crossed paths!

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Hello! So happy to be here with everyone!

I'm originally from a suburb of Atlanta, GA called Johns Creek. I did my undergrad at Emory U in Atlanta, then moved to Frederick, got certified to teach at Hood College, and taught English at Walkersville HS from 2009 to 2012. After that, I did an MA in English at Georgetown, then moved to Chapel Hill, NC to do a PhD in English at UNC. I'm ABD (all but dissertation) and plan to finish by the end of 2022! I also taught English at UNC from 2014 to 2018.

I'm so, so excited to be back with FCPS teaching English 10 and 10H at Oakdale HS. It really feels like coming home.

Something unusual about me is that I am a certified professional life coach! That is something I decided to do in 2017 to serve my students more effectively in our office hours conversations. It led to me working as an advisor for a scholarship foundation at UNC called Morehead-Cain for the past 3 years. I can't wait to see how my coaching and advising skills can be put to use in the classroom!

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Hi friends! My name is Sarah Hohlfeld and I'm very excited teach for FCPS!

*I'm originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area, but moved to MD in 2004. I lived in Baltimore City for a few years, then Laurel, and now my family and I live in Mt. Airy.

*I received my Bachelor's degree from Duquesne University, and my Master's degree from Goucher College.

*This will be my 18th year of teaching. I spent 1 year teaching in Pittsburgh, then 16 years in Baltimore County.

*School assignment = Gov. Thomas Johnson Middle; 7th & 8th grade ELA

*Something unusual: my parents were teachers in every school I attended (including undergrad of college!), beginning when I was in 2nd grade.

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1. Hello everybody! I am Melissa Ligh and I am excited to join FCPS. I have been teaching for 10 years, this will be my 11th year, and I am Nationally Board Certified in ELA grades 9-12. I will be teaching middle school this year, which is a first for me and I feel like I am starting over in so many ways. We moved here from NC in June, our twins left the nest to start college so my husband and I are beginning a new phase of our lives with new jobs, new homes, and a new state. I love fashion and make up. I wear heels and wigs daily and never go out without make up. People are always amazed by this it seems, but I worked 20 years in corporate prior to teaching and got use to dressing up each day, so now I feel naked when I don’t. I love technology and create animated videos as a hobby (and for my students). I also love to workout, although I never seem to find the time during the school year. Believe it or not, I was a competitive bodybuilder for15 years but stopped in 2007. I love to sing (which is what I initially studied in college). I attended University of Miami but dropped out and it took me 20 years to go back to college, but I did! I received my BS in psychology, business and religion from Liberty University (they are getting lots of bad press now unfortunately), but I loved it. I fell in love with education and continued, receiving my Master degree in teaching from UNCC …and I am super stoked to work for a district that offers educational reimbursement!! My goal is to get my Doctorate in Curriculum Development. It may take me ten years- but it’s a goal. I have five kids and one of my babies just started AMDA in NY (she is an amazing vocalist) and the other baby starts NC state in just a couple of weeks! Our boys are grown and married living in Virginia- so this location seemed perfect! Again happy to meet you all and to join the FCPS community. I know I will learn so much and grow as an educator in this endeavor.

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Hello! I am excited to start this new journey with FCPS!
*I am Morgan Miske and I am from Baltimore, but have been living in Pennsylvania for the past several years.
*I graduated from Towson University (BS) and just this spring I graduated from Goucher College (MA).
*I have been teaching 8th grade ELA in Harford County for the past six years.
*I am super excited to make the transition to High School to teach 10th grade English at Urbana High School.
* Something unusual: For the past several years (except this year and last) I take small groups of teenagers backpacking on the AT for a couple days through a summer program I work for. We would actually start our journey near Frederick. I always thought it was so beautiful around here, little did I know I would be moving here this year!

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Hello! I'm Katherine Bell, but you can call me Katie. I'm from Frederick, but I've left town for college and grad school. My mother taught elementary school with FCPS for many, many years, and my brother currently coaches the Middletown Pole Vaulting team.

I completed my undergrad at the University of Tennessee and I earned an MFA in creative writing from Eastern Washington University in 2017. Since then, I've published a few stories and I've been teaching college at both Frederick and Carroll Community Colleges for the past four years. Now, though, I am super excited to work as a Reading Intervention specialist for all grade levels at GTJ Middle School!

An unusual fact about me is that my family has been in Frederick County for so long that a lot of roads have been named after my ancestors, like Powell Road, Stull Road and Angleberger Road off rt. 15.

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* Hello, and thank you for welcoming us with such great enthusiasm! I am very excited to begin my journey with Frederick County Public Schools, and I am looking forward to meeting all of you on Thursday.
* I was born in Washington, DC, and while growing up I split my time between the DC suburbs and the Dallas, Texas area. I graduated from Trinity College (BA) and McDaniel College (MS).
* I have been a teacher for 22 years. I began my career in DC Public Schools, and then I moved to Maryland where I taught in both public and private school settings. Most of my teaching experience has been in ELA at the middle school level, and I am thrilled to teach 8th grade ELA at Monocacy Middle School this year.
* I am an avid reader, and I love to explore nature. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do, and it is my goal to hike every national park in America. I spent two weeks this summer kayaking the Rio Grande River and hiking through the deserts, canyons, and mountains in Big Bend National Park. It was an amazing, although excruciatingly hot, experience!

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Hello everyone! I am so excited to start teaching and learning with the wonderful staff at FCPS!

Here's a little about me:
-My name is Allison Coposky (but I usually go by Allie).
-My hometown is right here in wonderful Frederick, MD but I've moved around a lot and lived in many different areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio!
-I graduated from Hood College with my BA in Secondary English Education just this past May.
-This will be my first year teaching!!!
-I will be teaching 7th and 8th grade ELA at Thurmont Middle this year. Go Panthers!
-Something "unusual" about me is that I also have my AA in Photography and I photograph weddings, families, high school seniors, maternities,....you name it! I love being behind the camera.

I am looking forward to learning and growing as an educator with FCPS and to getting to know everyone here! :)

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Hi, and welcome to our FCPS ELA family! Some facts about me... (*) I am from Slate Hill, NY, a tiny town about 50 miles north of NYC.  (*) I received my undergraduate and graduate degrees from Penn State University.  (*) This is my 19th year working for FCPS.  (*) I am the teacher specialist for Secondary ELA. (*) I completed 3 marathons and over 20 half marathons, but have recently shifted to more biking and... kayaking!

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Hello and welcome to FCPS !! Here is a little bit of information about me:
- I am from Maryland
( Baltimore and Frederick)
- I teach 8th grade at West Frederick Middle
- I love to shop and attend  festivals.
- Judy Blume, Christopher Paul Curtis, and Langston Hughes are my favorite authors.

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Hi! I'm originally from the north shore of Long Island; I graduated from two NYC schools, Fordham and Pace. After teaching in NYC for four years, I moved with my family to Frederick in 1996.  We've loved every minute of living here!
- I'm teaching at Walkersville High
- This fall I have English 9, AP Lit, and English 101
- This spring I'll teach English 102 and English 12
Something about be that not everyone knows is that I earned my 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Caveat! I was in my 20s and everything was easier!

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Hello and welcome to the FCPS family! I am originally from the Catskill region in New York. I moved to Maryland in 2007 to begin my teaching career with FCPS. I have my BA in secondary education/English from SUNY New Paltz and my masters in instructional technology from the University of Maryland University College! I am the Technology Teacher Specialist for ELA/Media Services Prek-12! Something unusual about me is that I was an Irish Dancer for over 14 years and toured with a troupe through Ireland and the Northeast United States! I am excited to support all of you as we embark on an exciting and unusual year!

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Welcome to the world of FCPS  Secondary English/Language Arts!
We are so glad you decided to join us!  Here's a little bit about me:

~I am from the hills of Kentucky and just returned this Sunday from my first trip back there in over 11 years
~I graduated from Georgetown College (BA) , Morehead University (MA)
~I have been an educator for 45+ years in Kentucky and FCPS
~I am the Secondary English/Language Arts Curriculum Specialist
~I love to travel and have been to Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, and Belgium
~Something usual: I escaped from France in March 2020, right before COVID hit!