Content: 6th Grade Science
School: Hines Middle
Years Taught: 9 years teaching, 21 in education

Why are you passionate about supporting fellow teachers?
I am passionate about supporting teachers because I love to see their growth and development in instruction, relationships, and classroom management.

What is the best way to describe your classroom on a typical day?
The best way to describe my classroom on a typical day is very engaging, on task behavior, real-life connections, labs, and students independently working.

What word best describes you as a teacher and why?
The words that describes me best as a teacher are energetic and entertaining because I have so much passion for teaching Science.

Content: 7th Grade Life Science
School: Gildersleeve Middle
Years Taught: 5

Why are you passionate about supporting fellow teachers?
Teaching is a profession that relies heavily on teamwork and support from our community. I remember feeling anxious, afraid, and overwhelmed my first few years of teaching, and I would not have made it to where I am now without the model teachers I had in my building. Those teachers kept me going when the going got tough. I would love to be that type of support for other teachers in return. We need to attract and retain teachers now more than ever, and having an excellent support system for all the teachers in our district is a great way to do that.

What is the best way to describe your classroom on a typical day?
Adaptable - My first year of teaching was the 2019-2020 school year. That year our grade level had an arduous group of students which I had a hard time with as a first-year teacher. That was also the year Covid hit the world. Everything has changed many times since then: the curriculum, safety precautions and protocols, teaching styles, etc. Pretty much everything you can think of is different now. I think any teacher that has survived these last few years in teaching can use resilient and adaptable to label themselves because that is exactly what we have been doing to stay successful.