I was born a twin which caused me to look at life differently. Walking to school in kindergarten, I wondered how anyone could possibly go to school without holding their twin brother’s hand. Having moved a lot as a child, I felt scared attending new schools. I think of these experiences when starting a new year.                               

I graduated from Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho with a BA in education. I worked at Idaho State School & Hospital to pay my way through college. After graduating, I taught nine years in Southeastern Idaho. My first experience was teaching primary grades in an open classroom concept. We had 100 students in one big room. This was a great beginning teaching assignment.

 

In 1988, I went back to school at Utah State University in Logan, Utah for three years and received a degree in Art. During this time, I lived upstairs and worked in a shelter home of boys who had autism. In 1991, I moved to Seattle and decided to get back into teaching. I taught fifth grade in Highline School District for nine years. During this time, I received my Master’s degree from Lesley University. Seeking a different kind of challenge, I taught in Seattle at the Youth Service Center (detention) for two years. It was a wonderful learning experience, but I really liked working with younger children and desired to teach special education.

 

In 2003, I was hired at Lakeview Elementary to work with children who have disabilities. I enjoy this experience because I have to think “outside the box” to use creative methods of teaching. My skilled staff and students’ parents are a real bonus to my  job.

 

My favorite leisure activities are walking my Chihuahuas, volunteering with the homeless, and spending time with my godchildren. In July of 2007, I visited a remote African village in Kenya. The people are very poor, but very happy. I am helping to raise money to build a school, hire teachers, and buy food & shoes for children. I plan to return to Kenya next year. When I left, I gave my new Kenyan friends two calves as gifts.  In the hills of the Great Rift Valley, you can hear the natives calling the two calves that they named, “Donna”.