Single Subject Teacher Credential Coordinator
School of Education
September 1, 2013
“I am not ready to give up the energy and renewal I experience when working with teachers to discover their ‘teacher artist’ within.”
I love doing two things – learning about teaching and being with my family. I am fortunate in that my hobby and one of my passions is what I have chosen for my career.
Over the course of my career, I have taught in elementary schools, middle schools, and three different colleges, and have been an administrator in a high school. These varied experiences have kept me growing. They have challenged my perspective, helping me to experience, embrace, and value the concept that learning is understanding things in new ways.
I am fortunate to have been mentored by some amazing instructional leaders. They have pushed me to learn new ways of igniting student interest and delight in new ways of cultivating student learning. They have helped to develop the “teacher artist” within me.
Because of my love for trying new things, I have had the opportunity to be a part of opening three new schools during my career. I was a sixth grade teacher in a new school in Columbia, Missouri – new desks, new books, new building, and the opportunity of a new group of educators to come together, guided by an innovative principal, to explore, plan, and implement – from the beginning – a culture focused on student learning.
When I moved to California, I began teaching at McAuliffe Middle School in Los Alamitos where, once again, I had an opportunity to be a part of creating a new school when Oak Middle School was reopened. Although the building and books were not new this time, once again I was mentored by an innovative, creative leader who formed a team that valued collaboration and professional growth.
In 2000, the opportunity arose to move with this principal to the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) where OCSA’s after-school program was re-envisioned as a dynamic, creative environment for aspiring artists to form a community of learners in a comprehensive high school. It was here where encouraging and supporting others to find and develop the “teacher artist” within themselves grew into a passion. In 2012, I retired after having been assistant principal for eight years and principal for four.
After a year of supervising student teachers and teaching several courses at UC Irvine, I find I am not ready to give up the energy and renewal I experience when working with teachers to discover their “teacher artist” within. So, I have failed retirement! I am excited about joining the School of Education as the Single Subject Credential Coordinator, allowing me the opportunity to share with new educators the love of teaching and learning that my mentors engrained in me.