I am a tried and true Buck Lake Bobcat! I have been here since the day the school opened back in 1989: first, as a parent and then as a Kindergarten teacher in 1994. After one year in K, I asked to move up to a higher grade level (God bless the Kindergarten teachers!) and was moved to second grade. I have been in my same classroom ever since. I have taught every grade level prior to arriving at Buck Lake, but you can easily see, I am partial to second graders. They are just the best!

I was born and grew up in Ohio but moved to Tallahassee when I was in 8th grade. I graduated from Leon High School and then did my undergraduate work at that other school south of here with the orange and blue colors. I love my Gators, but you will also find me in Doak cheering the Seminoles at every home game on Saturdays in the Fall. Some people say you can’t like both teams, but I do!

My children were all Buck Lake Bobcats and all graduates of Florida State University. All three were Orientation Leaders, held offices in their fraternities and sororities, and were active on campus. Our daughter Leslie was even Homecoming Queen her senior year at FSU! Leslie has been teaching first and second grade in Tampa for 6 years and just this year accepted a position as a full-time mentor teacher to beginning teachers in Hillsborough County. Our daughter, Megan is currently in Oxford, England on a graduate assistantship but she returns to Tallahassee this Fall to begin a position as the Director of Greek Life at FSU. Our son Trent returned to Tallahassee after working for design firms in Atlanta and New York City and is now with the State Department of Management Services. His wife Jessica is a lobbyist for several education groups and they have one darling 2½ year-old daughter, Harper. My husband (of 40 years!) is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at FSU.

Even after so many years of teaching, I love coming to school every day! Each day is full and different! I believe that one is called to be a teacher and feel so fortunate to have found that calling at an early age. I have always wanted to be a teacher and 39 years later, I’m still here! You can only imagine the changes I’ve seen in my lifetime of teaching as trends and theories come and go. I have learned to adapt and fine-tune a variety of strategies so that children achieve at their optimal level. There is no one right way to teach a child. My job is to find what works best for each child and apply it.  It is important to challenge students, ensure some success each day, and have some fun along the way!

During my years of teaching, I completed graduate work at Indiana University, earned National Board of Certified Teachers status, served as mentor teacher for the ten years that Leon County Schools had that program, recognized as a Distinguished Educator by the University of Florida, been named Hartsfield Teacher of the Year, Leon County Teacher of the Year, and was even one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year.  But this year I am most happy to be your child's teacher of the year!