"I graduated in 1988 from SAIL. I graduated from Antioch College in Ohio with a BA in Environmental Communications in 1994. I received my 2nd bachelors from Prescott College in Education in 1998. I'm now half way through my Master of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies at Northern Arizona University where I'm attending on scholarship.
I've taught middle school English, Social Studies and K-12 Drama for 7 years before going back for my Masters. I've just received the Arizona Promising Practices in the Arts Award for a project I did with my students last year combining place based local history, social studies, English and drama. We researched a local history event, interviewed the descendents of the story, wrote the story as a play and performed it at the Museum of Northern Arizona. I couldn't have accomplished the amazing things I've done without SAIL in my life.
At 14 I was disillusioned, depressed, and disappointed with the Florida public schools. I went to SAIL and my life truly turned around - I was finally allowed the freedom to study in a way that interested me, full of creativity and art. Trisha Stapleton, one of the most incredible and loving teachers I've ever come across, recruited me to be the assistant director on the school play - she showed me that I could handle the responsibility and do it well - she believed in me and in turn I began to believe in myself.
I am forever grateful to the many talented teachers and the administration there for creating a school for us round pegs who don't fit into square holes."