School: Covington Elementary School

Grade/Subject teaching: fourth grade

Education: Bachelor of science in elementary education from Capital University, Columbus, Ohio; master of education from Indiana Wesleyan University, Fort Wayne

Years teaching: 20

City Born: Fort Wayne

City Raised: Fort Wayne

Current hometown: Fort Wayne

Family: I am married to my husband, Ron, and we have two sons: Ben, a sixth-grader at Summit Middle School, and Bradley, a third-grader at Lafayette Meadows Elementary School.

Last book read: “Sacajawea” written by Anna L. Waldo. My students know I love historical fiction, and this excellent novel chronicles Sacajawea’s life through historical documents entwined with the author’s imagination.

Favorite teacher: Mr. John Sawyer at Wayne High School. He taught me a love of great literature and poetry (especially by Robert Frost), and also how to write well-organized and descriptive essays.

Favorite class in school: I loved my science classes at Wayne High School. During the years I attended Wayne, the biology department had a greenhouse on the roof of the school where we grew various plants and learned how to treat diseases affecting them. I also took an astronomy class in the planetarium. Much of the science background knowledge I learned in high school has been helpful in teaching my fourth graders at Covington.

Favorite teaching memory: This would have to be the fourth-grade field trips to southern Indiana, which tied together many cross-curricular standards. Students visited Corydon, the site of our first state capital to learn about Indiana’s state government as they sat in seats inside the original Capitol building. We would also stop at Marengo Caves near Marengo to go spelunking through the vast, underground limestone caverns. Finally, we would spend the night at Spring Mill State Park where we explored caves, learned about Gus Grissom, and visited an early pioneer settlement.

What is your favorite part of the beginning of the school year? My favorite part of the beginning of the school year is fostering a “team” feeling with my new group of students. Through learning about each other, developing classroom rules together, and establishing goals for the year, each student quickly learns to feel he or she is an important part of a new closely knit group of friends.