I grew up in Cadillac, MI, the daughter of a teacher and a school administrator. My family lived in a converted two-room schoolhouse.  My career path seemed almost predestined.  As a fourth grader, I spent mornings assisting in the pre-kindergarten class.  In high school, I started an after school drama group for middle school students.

I have a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a minor in English from Western Michigan University.  I have been a teacher consultant for the National Writing Project since 1996.  I began my teaching career here at Kazoo School, teaching, at different points, both first and second grades and middle school language arts and social studies. I have also worked as a writing coordinator for Kalamazoo Public Schools and been the owner of a used bookstore.

The 2007-2008 school year brought me back to Kazoo School as the librarian, and now I am in the middle school again as the language arts and social studies teacher. I love teaching, and I love teaching at Kazoo School. Teaching is the most challenging and creative work I know, and being a Kazoo School teacher allows so much scope for my imagination.  I appreciate knowing my students and their families as people, not simply names in a record book. No day is the same as any other in our classroom; you may find us writing a play based upon what we've read, discussing our creative writing, debating the true causes of the Trojan War, or mounting a mock election with literary characters as candidates.  Teaching middle school is loud, it is messy and it is passionate, but it is never boring, and that is why I love it.