Subjects taught/Activities Sponsored: Currently, I teach 11AP Language and Composition, 11 Honors English, 10 Resource English; I am a co-sponsor of the 12th grade class, chair of the English department, and sponsor of the Italian Exchange Program. In the past at Jackson Prep, I have taught 11 College Prep, 12 College Prep, and sponsored the yearbook and Precis pageant.

Spouse/Children: Cal - husband of 23 years, Zac - a 2006 graduate of Prep and a USM student, Emma - 11th grader at Prep, Zoe and Cassie - 9th grade twins at Prep

Total Years of Teaching Experience: 13

Total Years at Prep: 8

Colleges Attended/Degrees Earned: University of Southern Mississippi - B.A., University of New Orleans - M.A.

Hobbies/Interests: walking, reading, travel, chocolate

Why I teach:
My friends who work outside education often ask me why I teach. It is a fact that I love language and literature; I love words. Who but an English teacher gets to read poetry for pay or is given a red pen and a pile of essays to read and accepts them with enthusiasm? Besides, I love teenagers--which is odd because the ones I have living in my house might suggest to you that that fact isn't always evident. (Those very same children--my own--would even suggest I am a mean mother-- what with expecting them to keep their rooms clean and do homework). Teenagers are funny and spontaneous, poignant and charming, complex and frustrating.

But beside those reasons, I teach because I love the variety that this job offers. Everyday, every student, every lesson is different, and the challenges inherent in this job force me to grow as a teacher and as an individual. I work with amazing, dedicated teachers and administrators who love what they do, who make me want to be a better teacher, who inspire and support me, who make me laugh, and who make me think. The opportunity to work at Prep has made me, as a parent, realize the reason I chose this educational experience for my own children--an experience in which a child truly has the opportunity to expand his or her world from the inside out. I want my children and my students to learn to succeed by learning to rely on themselves, by taking responsibility for their choices and for themselves, by learning that mastering something that is difficult is so much more rewarding that simply repeating a pattern. I want them to learn that taking risks forces them to grow and that showing respect for others and for themselves will make them into the kind of people they like seeing in their mirrors. English may not be your child's favorite subject, but I sincerely hope and pray that somehow I will reach every student I teach in a significant and positive way. Who knows, maybe by the end of the school year your child will like to write or will have claimed one novel or poem or short story as a favorite.