1. What do you do at The Cooper School and how long have you been here?

I have taught at The Cooper School for 11 years. I am currently teaching Second Grade. I have taught all the grades in my time here. This is my 5^th time teaching Second Grade. 

2. What do you value about being at TCS?

I love being able to teach at a school that aligns with my personal beliefs on how children should be treated and taught. I also appreciate that I continue to grow and learn more and more every year, both professionally and personally. 

3. What’s something you’ve learned teaching here?

I really love the language of the Peace Wheel and the TCS approach to conflict resolution. Conflict is a part of life and learning how to deal with it constructively is so important. I have found myself using that language in my personal life to solve issues that may arise. 

4. Which educator has influenced you the most in your life, and how?

There have been so many! I had the same teacher in Third and Fourth then again in Seventh and Eighth Grades, Kali Baird. She has had so much influence on the type of teacher I strive to be. I always felt connected to her and she had a deep sense of caring for all of her students. I still see and talk to her occasionally about school issues and deeply respect her input and ideas.

5. What do you look forward to in your role here (lesson, section, topic, etc.) each year?

Creating bonds with students and maintaining those bonds from year to year is such a wonderful perk of working in a smaller school. Fifth Graders that I taught in Third Grade still want to share things with me, and I love that!

6. What is an example of your approach to dynamically balancing creative intelligence, self and social intelligence and academic mastery in your work at TCS?

Second Grade just wrapped up our biggest project, Cooper Village. This is one of my favorite projects to teach at The Cooper School because of how dynamic and cross-curricular it is. Students have to navigate reading, writing, science, social studies, and math all while working in a group. Group work requires so much social-emotional learning, collaboration, compromise, and self-awareness. I love helping students navigate this project and learn how to be successful and helpful members of a group.

7. If you could live in a book, what book would it be?

I can’t choose! I like books that incorporate sci-fi and magic. I also love books set in the future and how authors portray the advances in technology.  

8. What’s something this community might not know about you?

I am pregnant with my first child and am due right after school ends! I have loved sharing this journey with my class and having them ask me every day, “How big is your baby today?”