Teaching children has always been a passion for me. I began my teaching career as a substitute teacher in the Redwood City School District in 1988. I loved getting an up close and personal look at all the grade levels, but fell in love with the curriculum and development of the fourth and fifth grades and graders respectively.

After substituting, I taught 8 years in Santa Clara, the last four in an alternative elementary school, Washington Open. Part of what made that experience unique was that I had an average of six parents in the classroom each day. With this support, I was able to provide the children with small group learning environments and hands-on activities. It was a very exciting time in my career.

The prospect of working in the classroom was part of the reason I chose Orion when choosing a school for my oldest daughter, Frances. In the fall of 2004, as Frances began her fourth grade year, I returned to teaching as the 4/5 teacher at Orion. I believe all children can succeed and part of succeeding is finding their area of strength, whether it be art, math, inter/intra personal skills, music, P.E., writing, or reading. Every child has a strength and every child needs to shine. Equally important is for each child to accept and work on his/her challenges. I love teaching at Orion and continue to incorporate into my curriculum what I believe is important to children’s learning, small group settings and hands-on materials.

I enjoy reading, cooking, going for walks, running, camping, traveling, spending time with my family and close friends, and curriculum (I love it!) I can be a bit of a homebody and my idea of a perfect evening is one spent with my family, by the fire, book in hand. I feel the same way in the classroom. The perfect day is one in which there are no pullouts or switching of classes, and we are all together, books in hand.