About me... My Personal Philosophy: I believe that all people can and want to learn and be successful. I believe education can and should be engaging (fun!), challenging in a positive way, and supportive of the individual as a whole. I believe leadership is showing, not telling. I believe strong skill sets within collaboration, connections, and entrepreneurship are necessary for success in our global society. I believe technology integrated as a tool within most learning opportunities will promote a stronger sense of self, creativity, and problem-solving in our learners, along with a deep sense of citizenship. I pledge this to my learners, my learning community and myself.
Currently, I work at theSan Diego County Office of Education as a Coordinator in Educational Technology. In this role, my work spans many efforts across San Diego county. I work with district leaders to strategically plan for technology integration aligned to their vision and goals. The opportunity to work with technology resource teachers and lead integrators is very rewarding through our Tech. Coaching Collective, nicknamed, CoCo. When I first started, we were hosting the iVIE Awards (Innovative Video in Education) and I was honored to coordinate the 2016 iVIE Festival and Awards. Now, our efforts are focused on learning and innovation, including, but not limited to, makerspaces, authentic technology integration, professional learning opportunities, and other tech-related initiatives. We have many events hosted by our Innovation division, including a yearly summit featuring Google tools. Check out our website at: innovatesd.org.
I came from San Diego Unified where I was working from the Central office as a Common Core Resource Teacher in Literacy with area superintendents, school administrators and teachers. My heart lives in first grade classrooms, specifically teaching children through the Reading Recovery program. Over the past 25 years, teaching has lead me to five different districts in the state of California and in all grades K - 8th, both as a classroom teacher and in many different support positions, including Technology Mentor for a district in northern California. I began my teaching career right here in San Diego, in fact, as I completed my credential coursework, I worked as a Teacher’s Aide in a Resource Specialist’s classroom at my Alma mater, Mann Middle School (although it was a 7th-9th grade Jr. High when I attended as a student), while I student taught at a new "home," Loma Portal Elementary. Since my return to the district in 2000, I’ve worked as a 1st grade teacher, Peer Coach/Staff Developer, Site-based resource teacher, Coach on the Striving Readers Grant, Dean of Students - back at Mann Middle School, and as a Central Office Resource Teacher where I was able to support administrators and teachers at most of my Alma maters - Encanto Elementary, Mann Middle School, and Crawford High School... Go Colts! along with many other school sites. This revisiting of places known has continued throughout my life and I feel very blessed to go back to them. It’s like coming home, usually redecorated or fixed up a bit with new friends and family. And, I’m counting this LEC in that mix - already I’ve gotten to know quite a few of those in this cohort. The opportunities during the Face-2-Face meetings, plus the group presentation, have extended my network, along with reconnecting with colleagues. I've really enjoyed learning with you all! Currently, I live in Chula Vista, California, with my husband, Duane , and my sweet fur-baby, Rosco. We are very proud of our daughter, Francine, who graduated from the University of Minnesota and is working full-time as a Graphic Designer.
Our Family
Rosco
This big boy weighs in at 117 lbs! He is a mixture of Mastiff and Pitbull and complete love-bug. He loves to carry around tennis balls - his record is 4 balls at one time!
Spring of 2019 - Our daughter graduated from the University of Minnesota. Enjoy a few of our favorite photos during our trip to Minnesota.