Brief Bio

Here (click on “here”) I'm highlighted in the magazine put out by the BYU Chemistry department. Find my bio on pgs. 24-25

I currently teach Science Hatch Valley High School in Hatch, NM. This is a brand new opportunity as I embark on reaching students in a rural United States setting, especially fully remote distance learning!

I grew up in the Chicago area of the United States.  I earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Brigham Young University and furthered my education to achieve a Ph.D. degree in Immunology from the University of Utah.  Later, after I found my real destiny, I went on to earn a secondary teaching degree with advanced certification in Biology from St. Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania. 

Years ago my husband and I escorted our seven children on their journey of American public school education and have seen four of them graduate.  During the years of having all children in school, I found myself nearly a full-time volunteer in the science classrooms helping students and advising the teachers.  This is when I realized where I truly belonged.   

A few years ago we took an opportunity to move to China so off we went with the four children remaining at home.  There my children entered the international school setting and that's when I earned my secondary teaching degree while having accepted a teaching job at the Shanghai Community International School.

Life then carried us to the Netherlands where I taught IB Biology, IB ESS, HS Biology, and MS Science at the American International School of Rotterdam.  My husband and I taught at the same school our children attended.  And yes, I taught my own children in the classroom!

In 2015 we accepted positions in Saudi Arabia to begin a new adventure. And in 2017 we moved to Lima, Peru and enjoyed the culture and people there. The need to help aging parents has returned us to the United States.

The actual impetus to me starting this blog is a workshop by Ken O'Conner that I attended in the fall of 2013: Assessment for Learning.  There I became an advocate of standard-based grading and have embarked on a journey at various schools of evaluating and possibly implementing the practice.  Of course, my journey is more of an adventure in teaching as it pulls in all the activities and projects I am involved with as an educator at international schools and now in the U.S.

I hope others will share and join in this journey me!  Please feel to comment on any blog post as ideas and thoughts come to your mind.  I will respond.