At which school in the district do you teach? 

I teach 4th grade at Morey.

How long have you been teaching at SASD? 

This is my 18th year in Stroudsburg. I spent 7 years teaching Kindergarten at Ramsey, 3 years in 2nd grade at Morey, and this is my 8th year teaching fourth grade.

Is there anything you wish you had known as a first-year teacher? 

During my first year of teaching, I had an amazing class. I remember thinking I couldn’t believe they trusted me to teach all those very tiny people! No one else in my family is a teacher, so I had no idea how much work it was going to be, but I also didn’t know how rewarding it would be, in different ways, every single day. 

If you could teach another subject what would it be and why? 

If I could teach another subject, I would probably teach high school English. I majored in English/Writing in college, and I love to read and write and edit papers. I’m usually the person people ask when they have a grammar question!

What is one piece of advice you would share with your students?

I always tell my kids two things: if you have to do something, you might as well do it well. There are always going to be things you don’t want to learn or don’t want to try, but if you have to spend time doing it anyway, you should always put forth your best effort and do the best you can. The other thing is that when something is hard, don’t immediately decide you can’t do it. Once you tell yourself that, it’s over. You have to believe you can do it, and give yourself a chance to succeed!

How and when did you know that teaching was what you wanted to do?

I spent most of my life thinking I was going to be an author. I even majored in Writing in college, so maybe I’ll still write a book someday! However, in college, I worked at a summer recreation program with 5-year-olds, and one day I showed one of my campers how to tie her shoes. A few days later, I watched her tie her shoes totally on her own, and asked how she knew how to do that. She said, “because of you! You taught me!” That fall was when I returned to college, I added Elementary Education to my major.

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