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I have  been teaching in the Hazelwood School District for the last twenty years. For the first half of my career, I was at Jury Elementary (teaching fourth and fifth grades), and I have been at Russell Elementary ever since. Last year I was asked to move  from second to fifth grade and I loved it. Teaching several former second graders in my fifth grade class made the year even better.
Inspiring students to love reading and to appreciate that they are on "their path," (and where that path leads depends upon how hard they work each day), are among my favorite parts of the job.

[Below: At the beginning of the pandemic, Russell Elementary teachers created a slideshow for our school community.]

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1. Kristen and I have been together for almost a decade-we met when she and I taught at the same school.
2. Both being (kid-free) teachers, we are looking forward to resuming our summer travels. Two years ago we visited Iceland and Ireland. We are currently debating our next (summer's) trip. I'm thinking: Cinque Terre, Athens, Mykonos, and Istanbul; Kristen is dying to go on an African Safari. Which would you choose?
3. During the pandemic, I picked up photography as a hobby. I am in awe of people with a great eye for composition and am reading and working to improve my own skillset. I enjoy landscape photography because I can hike & scout out a location to shoot, while also enjoying the great outdoors.
4. Speaking of the pandemic, I used to work out for the love of it, now it's to fit back into my pre-pandemic pants.

[Below: Gulfloss (Golden Falls) in Iceland. Seeing the sun reflecting off of the falls is required for the "golden" part. Alas, low, grey skies & misty rain that day.]

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Like many of you, I use technology all the time in my daily life: iPhone & iWatch; iPad & Kindle; smart tv's, etc.

Since getting into photography this year, I am learning to properly edit photos with programs like  Adobe Photoshop and Light Room. There's even an app for Light Room that I use on my cell phone!

[Below: From the first time I took out my new camera, last summer at Laumeier Sculpture Park. Composition Lesson #1... Check for red tubes going "through" your head.]

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Many years ago Hazelwood put a Dell laptop in my hands, and I've been working at school and at home on a computer ever since! Usually I'm designing lessons, evaluating students' work and data, entering student data into spreadsheets ("data trackers" in Hazelwood), communicating through Email, and more.

This year, teaching virtually and moving to a new grade level, I had so many ed-tech platforms with which to become familiar. A few that I used daily include: Google Suite (Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google Drive, etc.), Clever (to add apps for students and to access programs), and Savvas Realize (curricula). Pear Deck and Kami were used daily as well.

[Below: a nice laundry room turned into a cramped laundry room/virtual classroom; but, I finally had my own office with a bathroom!

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I'd like to continue to build upon everything I've learned this year. Most importantly, I'd like to learn more about how to effectively incorporate technology to enhance student learning. I was provided with online materials that were not much better than a digital copy of student workbooks. My hope is to learn ways in which to teach with technology, to provide students with learning opportunities that require technology, critical thinking, and collaboration-not something similar to writing on a Chromebook instead of on paper, and to find new, engaging ways to hook and interest students.
[We also love our dogs: Carson, foreground, and Aspen, so if this course can help me find a way to bring them to school that would be a huge bonus!]