I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Education (Special Education; Learning and Behavior Disorders) from The University of Texas. I have public and private school experience teaching students with learning disabilities and emotional disorders in upper elementary grades and middle school. In addition, I taught 5th grade for two years. I had the opportunity to enter a doctoral program in education at the University of Washington when my family moved to Seattle. I worked as a Teaching and Research Assistant while completing my degree. Upon finishing, I remained at UW for three years to direct a research project in special education and to direct their teacher education program in Behavior Disorders. I taught graduate level courses in two fields, learning disabilities and behavior disorders. Our family made the decision to return to Texas in 1991 when my husband and I both had new job opportunities. I was a Professor of Special Education at TCU in Fort Worth from 1991 until I recently retired. My experiences at TCU included directing the graduate and undergraduate programs in special education. Because students graduating from our program earned dual certification in general and special education, I was heavily involved in teaching college students who were planning to be elementary and middle school teachers. TCU has two laboratory schools, Starpoint School (for elementary students with learning disabilities) and KinderFrogs School, an early intervention program for young children with Down Syndrome and other developmental delays. I was on the Advisory Board for both schools and worked closely with the teachers, assisting as needed. My experiences go beyond the rather bland description of what is written above. I am passionate about teaching children and youth and advocating for their needs. Too often the focus is placed on student deficits rather than student strengths. This leads to a cycle of defeat within the child. Teaching requires meeting student needs. My strength is identifying students' strengths and needs and to teach accordingly. I have over 30 years experience in developing successful learning strategies that assist students in their learning. I am in my 60s and I am still excited about meeting and teaching students. Every student has unique ways of learning. I believe that it is important to establish a strong teaching/learning relationship with each student based on their uniqueness. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I currently live on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina with my black lab. I volunteer for several local charities and for Meals on Wheels. I love my life!

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