Art
I was born and raised in Traverse City, Michigan. I graduated from Saint Francis High School and attended Central Michigan University where I earned a bachelor’s degree in education and majored in science. I obtained my Early Childhood Endorsement shortly after that.
Slowly I worked on the requirements for my master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. I finished my thesis in 2000 which was a study involving Benzie’s very own Young Fives program.
Previously I worked with the area’s Head Start program for 3 years. I also worked for five years at Crystal Lake Elementary teaching kindergarten and Young Fives before taking two years off with my second child. I worked at Platte River Elementary until 2007. I taught fourth and fifth grades for five years and one year of title one before taking another year off with my third child. Since my return from maternity leave in 2008 I joined the staff at Betsie Valley Elementary teaching title one for the last seven years.
I am married with three children. Korinne, 25, is currently a senior at Wyoming University. She is a manager with Sear’s. My husband, John, is the asset manager for Traverse City. He coached 2nd grade basketball with our son this spring. He is a very talented saxophonist with the NMC Jazz band. Kendall, 15, loves school, reading, cross country, and is currently learning how to drive. She is following in her dad’s footsteps in becoming a talented musician. She loves her saxophone and jazz music too. Liam is 8 and is very active. He loves music, reading, and all sports. In my spare time I enjoy running and anything to do with exercising (Yoga, weight-lifting, biking, walking, etc). I also enjoy knitting, cooking, and gardening, and a good game of cards. My family is blessed enough to have a pool in our backyard and I enjoy swimming very much during the summer time.
I believe being a good teacher requires many strengths. The most important is respect for all children and their ability to learn. This takes an amazing amount of patience which is the next important requirement for teaching. Teachers also need to be flexible. They need to be able to change plans when learning is not occurring. Also, teachers need to have a sense of humor. It keeps many incidences from escalating.
