Hello! I am excited to have the opportunity to share a little bit more about myself. I grew up in a very small town with a very loving family. When I am not teaching I love to travel, try new restaurants and foods, or watch sports. Also, family is a very important part of my life and who I am today. One thing that has truly made me the person I am today is teaching and education.
I first fell in love with teaching at the age of sixteen when I enrolled in a program called Teachers for Tomorrow. Like many sixteen-year-olds, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life after high school. I enrolled in the program because when I was in primary school I struggled greatly academically. I remembered a group of teenagers coming in and helping the teacher with some of the students that needed extra support with their work. I registered for the class and have never left the classroom since. I entered my first classroom for the program and was able to work with a second-grade class. Each day I looked forward to being able to leave the high school and work with the students. After graduation, I attended Liberty University where I received my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary and Special Education with additional endorsements in middle school education and history. Afterwards, I went back to my hometown and began teaching fifth-grade special education. During this time I started working on my Master's in Special Education from Liberty University. I continued teaching in my hometown in fourth and fifth-grade special education and general education. While continuing to teach in my hometown I saw a true need for additional support in reading and language arts. In the spring of my seventh year of teaching, I decided to enroll at Grand Canyon University in the Master's program for curriculum and instruction for reading. After completing the program I was able to assist more students in my hometown. I also earned a certification in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
My teaching philosophy and tutoring style is based on the idea that the teacher has to meet the student where they are academically, emotionally, and mentally. A teacher should be able to meet a child's needs in all these areas in order for the instruction to be successful and have goals met. During tutoring sessions, there will be activities that are fun, educational, rigorous, and appropriate for the student. My passion for teaching and creating quality instruction comes from my struggles as a young student. When I was in primary school I struggled greatly in school and required extra assistance. It truly affected me in many ways even though I was very young. I decided that I never want any student to ever feel the way I did as that student that struggled to keep up with the work.
Over the past eleven years, I have been working as a full-time teacher. I have instructed many different grade levels. I spent a majority of my time working with fourth and fifth graders in general education and special education. Currently, I teach Pre-K and am a mentor teacher for Kindergarten. I also have experience with first grade and second grade where I was an instructional leader for a summer program.
Currently, I am available to teach any subject from kindergarten to fifth grade. I am also available for middle school English, executive functioning, reading comprehension, students with learning difficulties, and students with special needs. My favorite subjects to teach are elementary reading and math because it allows me to be creative and present the material in a fun and interesting way. I look forward to working with you in the future.