About Me

In Short

I'm a kicking 6th grade teacher, dog mom, wife, and auntie endeavoring to live life to the fullest and have a positive impact while figuring out what that looks like as a survivor of childhood abuse who struggles with being a neurodivergent in a neurotypical world.

        

In Long

Born and raised in small town Alaska, I graduated from UAA with a degree in Elementary Education in 2011, following in the footsteps of my parents who came to Alaska in the 70s as bush teachers.

My student teaching journey wasn't an easy one, and after finishing my student teaching I returned to Seldovia took a position working as a special education aide to give myself some time to recover and decide if having my own classroom was still something I wanted. Thankfully, I worked with an amazing special education teacher who encouraged me to pursue getting my own classroom. I was also very fortunate to be surrounded by both current and retired teachers who never gave up hope that teaching was in my future, even when I did.

In 2013 I took the plunge and attended the Alaska Teacher Placement job fair and after my first (and only) interview of the day I was offered a job teaching 2nd grade in my dream district, Aleutians East Borough School District.

King Cove and AEBSD have been my and my family's home for the last 9 amazing years.

In 2016 I was given the choice to teach a 2nd/3rd combo or move up to 6th grade, and at the request of our sobbing, very pregnant 3rd grade teacher I opted to pack up and head on up to 6th grade, a move I've questioned many times as I've worked to help my students flourish in the classroom community I've created.

In my spare time I like to cross stitch, bike/walk 5Ks, bake, read the occasional book that has nothing to do with teaching, and spend time with family.

        

During 9 years in education I've focused on creating straightforward materials that make the content I'm asked to teach accessible and understandable to all students. If you have any questions you can reach me at seeuslearn6th@gmail.com.