Ms. Armstrong is a proud product of the Lake Washington School District. She was raised in Redmond, attended Ben Rush El, Rose Hill JH and graduated from Redmond High School.
"My first passion was art so I pursued a Graphic Arts degree before attending Central Washington University for a BA in Elementary Education," says Ms. Armstrong. She also completed a Masters of Education in Early Childhood Education and Reading Development at CWU. In 2009, she successfully achieved the highest standard in teaching, National Board Certification. “It was an incredibly difficult, yet very rewarding experience.”
Ms. Armstrong has 26 years of kindergarten experience in the LWSD with 17 of the years being in ADK. She has taught at Redmond, Alcott, Mead & McAuliffe Elementary and currently lives in Kirkland. The newest addition to the family is Sophie, a Lhasa Apso.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Armstrong is an Instructional Technology trainer for the LWSD, teaching and mentoring staff in many innovative applications, although her passion is the new Activboards and Activsoftware. “Technology enhances the lessons for students. The graphics and interactive features increase interest and participation from students. By engaging students in the activities, they take a more active role in the learning which increases growth and success.”
Travel is also a passion. Spring Break of 2011 took Ms. Armstrong and Mrs. Jackson to Washington DC with three parents and 19 Rosa Parks 5th, 6th and 7th graders to experience the history and geography of Jamestown, Williamsburg and District of Columbia. These students came back with a whole new understanding for their history lessons.
Guatemala was the adventure for 2010. Doug Johnson lead a group of 10 to visit and support our sister school, the Guatemala Friendship School/Instituto K’amawanik (www.gfsf.org). Six new laptops, over 100# of books & 100# of school supplies were generously donated to enhance the education of students that wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to attend middle school. GFS students excel on standardized tests and as high school students they frequently rank at the top of the class for the state.
“During the summer of 2007, I had the privilege of leading a group of 42 5th and 6th grade Student Ambassadors to Australia. People to People Student Ambassador program was started 50 years ago by President D. Eisenhower with the goal of promoting peace through understanding. We toured the eastern coast learning about history, culture, education, government and geography. Many famous people have been associated with People to People including Walt Disney who created the “It’s a Small World” attraction after his participation in the People to People conference.”
A small rural village on the Kenyan coast was home for Summer 2005. “I spent 6 weeks teaching students who typically had 2-3 outfits to wear, occasionally ate 1 meal a day and walked miles through the jungle to school. The people were so friendly and eager to learn. The adventure had a huge impact on my life!” Favorite quote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” by Mark Twain.
When Ms. Armstrong is not traveling, she also enjoys skiing, gardening & teaching tech classes. When asked what excites her most about Rosa Parks Elementary, Ms. Armstrong said, "I enjoy the pportunity to join this innovative staff. The arts are a natural foundation for education. Art develops imagination, creativity, expression of self and therefore self-confidence. Young children learn to read pictures before words, so through art children begin to travel the road of literacy and understanding. I want to help provide the stepping stones to lifelong learning with the colleagues, parents and students at Rosa Parks Elementary school."