I worked in the private sector for several years and became interested in education after my first child was born and we discovered he had a disability. As I researched disabilities and ways to help my child understand the curriculum, I discovered that I could help other children and I pursued a M.Ed, in Special Education. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with my M.Ed. in Special Education (General Curriculum) and was hired as an Autism teacher at the school where I completed my student teaching. I am now in my third year of teaching were I have worked with a variety of disabilities. My philosophy of teaching is simple. A classroom is not a "cookie cutter classroom", where one size fits all. As a special educator I must adapt the curriculum to each student, taking into account the diverse population of a 21st century classroom. I do this first by getting to know my students as individuals, taking into account their backgrounds, interests, goals, academic strengths, personal needs, and abilities where I can then focus on how they can best access the curriculum. I enjoy working with all subjects in the elementary curriculum however I am drawn to Math and Language Arts where I can employ research-based strategies that incorporate multiple means of representation that best fit the individual needs of the learner. Some of these strategies include a multi-sensory approach to students who struggle with reading and developing number sense for younger students in math. My personal interests outside of teaching are reading, hiking, and cooking.

reading, cooking, hiking, and keeping fit.