I grew up in Monticello, Iowa; the daughter of a Middle School band director and an Elementary music teacher. I am the oldest of three children. My sister, Amber lives in Ellensburg where she is pursuing her second Master's Degree, and my brother, Drew lives in Phoenix, Arizona working as a computer network salesman.

After attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where I majored in Elementary Education and Special Education, I attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where I earned a Master's Degree in Special Education.

My husband, Brian, and I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Paris, France before relocating to the Northwest. Brian works for Microsoft in the sales division where he creates software for tracking sales data. Brian and I live in Woodinville with our five-year-old daughter, Nora.

Suggestions for Success

• Come to school ready to learn
• Be open to new ideas
• Know your strengths and weaknesses
• If you respect the teacher, she will respect you
• Treat others how you would like to be treated
• Keep the lines of communication open

Units of Study

In fifth grade, the academic expectations will be as follows:

• Reading curriculum that focuses on analyzing information and vocabulary development
• Five paragraph papers including transition words and the 'blues'
• Mathematics units focusing on geometry, fractions, data, patterns, and measurement
• Scientific units of study about landforms, variables, the environment, and motion
• Map skills, learning about colonies and their explorers, and state information