The Personal Stuff
I live right here in Glen Ellyn and have for 19 years. I am a transplant from New Jersey, having arrived here in the summer of 1995 after my husband accepted an appointment with the University of Illinois. At that time, I stopped teaching in order to stay home with our then, brand new daughter, Sarah. I did that for 8 years before returning to teaching at Hadley in the fall of 2002.
The Educational Stuff
Bachelors and Masters
From a very young age, I wanted to teach. Teaching should be an avocation, not a vocation, as the impact and influence is enormous. I do not take that responsibility lightly and am driven to develop, refine, and polish my pedagogy to ensure that I serve those children placed in my charge well. In the 1970’s I earned a dual major in both elementary and special education in my bachelors program at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. I later earned my Masters at Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt.
Doctorate
In September of 2009 I was awarded my doctorate in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. My scholarly research focused on instructional practices that foster lifelong learning. That research continues as, along with several other district 41 teachers, we explore ways to strengthen learning confidence so that our students are adequately equipped to become global citizens fully engaged in the 21st century. My research found that strong learning confidence is linked to higher academic achievement. Through the use of a tool named the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) students were able to measure their growth in the seven domains of lifelong learning, domains that encompass all of District 41’s 21st Century Characteristics.
National Board Certification
I achieved National Board Certification in November of 2004, becoming one of four National Board Certified Teachers in District 41 and one of only 1,800 teachers statewide at the time. (To put that in perspective, the City of Chicago has approximately 26,000 teachers) National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. Certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. I wanted to measure my teaching and professional role against the highest national standards in order to assess my skill. The ability to do that in my classroom and with my students moved my learning from a theoretical base to practical application. While I have always walked away from any conference or class with something that I could incorporate into my teaching, the National Boards allowed me to look at my actual practice, hold it up to the highest standards, evaluate its effectiveness, articulate my purpose and reflect on how I might improve my craft and take it to the next level. Of all the professional development I have pursued, this was, with the exception of doctoral research, the most valuable, earning me a Master Teaching Certificate in the state of Illinois. I want to thank the Class of 2004 for all their support and the belief and encouragement they gave to me during the process. Team X, you are all AWESOME!
I live right here in Glen Ellyn and have for 19 years. I am a transplant from New Jersey, having arrived here in the summer of 1995 after my husband accepted an appointment with the University of Illinois. At that time, I stopped teaching in order to stay home with our then, brand new daughter, Sarah. I did that for 8 years before returning to teaching at Hadley in the fall of 2002.
The Educational Stuff
Bachelors and Masters
From a very young age, I wanted to teach. Teaching should be an avocation, not a vocation, as the impact and influence is enormous. I do not take that responsibility lightly and am driven to develop, refine, and polish my pedagogy to ensure that I serve those children placed in my charge well. In the 1970’s I earned a dual major in both elementary and special education in my bachelors program at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. I later earned my Masters at Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt.
Doctorate
In September of 2009 I was awarded my doctorate in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. My scholarly research focused on instructional practices that foster lifelong learning. That research continues as, along with several other district 41 teachers, we explore ways to strengthen learning confidence so that our students are adequately equipped to become global citizens fully engaged in the 21st century. My research found that strong learning confidence is linked to higher academic achievement. Through the use of a tool named the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) students were able to measure their growth in the seven domains of lifelong learning, domains that encompass all of District 41’s 21st Century Characteristics.
National Board Certification
I achieved National Board Certification in November of 2004, becoming one of four National Board Certified Teachers in District 41 and one of only 1,800 teachers statewide at the time. (To put that in perspective, the City of Chicago has approximately 26,000 teachers) National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. Certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. I wanted to measure my teaching and professional role against the highest national standards in order to assess my skill. The ability to do that in my classroom and with my students moved my learning from a theoretical base to practical application. While I have always walked away from any conference or class with something that I could incorporate into my teaching, the National Boards allowed me to look at my actual practice, hold it up to the highest standards, evaluate its effectiveness, articulate my purpose and reflect on how I might improve my craft and take it to the next level. Of all the professional development I have pursued, this was, with the exception of doctoral research, the most valuable, earning me a Master Teaching Certificate in the state of Illinois. I want to thank the Class of 2004 for all their support and the belief and encouragement they gave to me during the process. Team X, you are all AWESOME!