Beth VanBaricom is a Husky. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Children's Drama and received her Masters in Creative Arts from Lesley College. She brings a very exciting aspect to Rosa Parks Elementary as our Drama Specialist.
Her two daughters are both grown up and on their own. Betsy lives in Seattle and works as a financial analyst for Amazon.com. Christy is staying home in Sammamish to take care of Ms. Van's grandson, Asher. They all get together often to camp, boat and vacation.
Ms. VanBlaricom began her teaching career in California teaching pre-school and then kindergarten through third grade. She also worked as a reading teacher. When she joined the Lake Washington School District in 1989 she taught Primary Multi-age (K-2) at Dickinson, as well as Grades 3 - 5 at McAuliffe. In 2001 Ms. VanBlaricom helped start the New Teacher Support Program - mentoring new teachers. She worked with this program for 5 years and then opened Rosa Parks.
When she's not hopping on a plane to California, or maybe when she gets to California, Ms. VanBlaricom loves to be outside - hiking, boating, gardening, playing tennis or just walking! On rainy days, she can be found reading, using her band saw or quilting. Of course, she loves theatre, movies and dancing!
She has always worked to teach to the whole child - allowing children to learn and explore, showing their knowledge in many ways. The Arts provide a basis for this philosophy. She loves working with all the children, staff and parents at Rosa Parks Elementary – a community of lifelong learners!