I am a native of Appleton, Wisconsin and have lived here for the majority of my life.  My grandpa was in the Army; consequently, my dad ended up going to 21 different schools before graduating from high school.  Wanting a more stable life for their children, my parents made the decision to keep my three sisters and me in one city throughout our schooling. I attended a K-8 school growing up. Having teachers who knew me since Kindergarten made the rough few years of middle school a little bit easier to deal with.  In 9th grade, I transferred to James Madison Junior High and later attended Appleton East High School.  I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Language Arts.

After many years of living in Wisconsin, my impulsive nature wanted a change of scenery.  Thankfully, my husband has a good sense of humor and champions my whims.  We said good-bye to the snow and moved to Florida.  Orlando, Florida, home of many theme parks, became our home for a few years.  The sunshine and the plethora of activities the state has to offer made certain that we would never be lonely for family and friends wanting to come and visit us.  While in Orlando, I taught fifth grade.  I loved it!  My students and I had fun translating each others’ dialect and slang.  Apparently “bubblers” do not exist in Florida— just water fountains.

In the fall of 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne tested our sanities and the structure of our home.  My husband and I decided it was time to return to Wisconsin.  We packed up an enormous truck and moved back to Appleton in the spring of 2005.  That summer, a good friend of mine informed me that the Classical School was in need of a teacher for one math class and one English class.  I immediately fell in love with the curriculum, students, families, and staff. This will be my third year teaching at the Classical School.  However, it will be the first year that I will not be traveling to other AASD schools during the week.  I am extremely pleased that I can finally devote all of my time and attention to the Classical School.