Biography
I am a professional educator and interdisciplinary artist living and working in central Missouri.
Born and raised in northeastern Ohio, I graduated cum laude from from Kent State University with my Bachelor of Music degree. After a summer as brass caption head for a Division III DCI drum and bugle corps and a year as a full time educator in the inner-city schools of Akron, Ohio, I attended graduate school at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), where I earned my Master of Music degree and was inducted into the prestigious Pi Kappa Lambda honor society. Shortly thereafter I moved to Columbia, Missouri, and enjoyed my first five years building a strong elementary music program in the Hallsville R-IV School District. Two cats and my son joined me along the way.
My educational philosophy—based on high expectations for mastery and literacy, varied instructional approaches, energetic lesson pacing, active student involvement, discovery of interdisciplinary content connections, and continuous performance-based assessment—has been well-received by students, parents, faculty, and administration. In 2002, I accepted the charge to serve in an instructional leadership role within my building and district. During the summers of 2002 and 2003, I was honored to work in a faculty position with the the innovative Missouri Fine Arts Academy. Over the past nine years, I have had the opportunity to function in several professional capacities for the nationally renowned University of Missouri College of Education and MU Partnership for Educational Renewal. The summer of 2008 saw another change in job title; I now serve as Hallsville’s Director of Curriculum & Instruction.
I have many other interests and hobbies, most of which are documented online. I am eager to create using most any medium available: music, visual arts, and writing, for example. I also fancy myself and amateur philosopher specializing in the spiritual, sociological, and political.
My Current Position
I began my career as a professional music educator, but my interests, roles, and responsibilities have continued to evolve. Fifteen years of public school teaching—including six as lead and mentor teacher—provided experience and knowledge that serve me well as my district’s Director of Curriculum & Instruction. With the support of the community, my colleagues, students, and parents, I spend my days crafting and implementing our new teacher induction program, providing faculty professional development on research-supported educational best practices, serving as PLC coach and teacher mentor, coordinating curriculum development efforts, analyzing district achievement data, working as district assessment and at-risk coordinator, and serving as an ex-officio member of key district committees.
While in many respects quite different from my first teaching experiences, there is still much common ground. I quickly learned to apply the same concepts I used as a classroom teacher to my work with adult learners. Unfortunately, my duties provide much less time and fewer opportunities for interaction with students. I’ve overcome this problem by maintaining a studio for brass instruction, attending district events, eating lunch in the student cafeteria as many days per week as I am able, and continuing to teach summer school classes.
I'm an educator, interdisciplinary artist, technophile, and jack of all trades living and working in the heart of America. Detailed biographies are available for those who have nothing better to do this afternoon.