I am Derek Strine, the fourth and fifth grade teacher here at Kazoo School.  I have been teaching at Kazoo School for six wonderful years.

At Kazoo School, I have the opportunity to really get to know the children who make up my Basegroup.  They are awe-inspiring.  Every year is a different learning experience, because I allow the children to choose the themes we study throughout the year as I guide them in the joy of discovery.

I am on my second career.  I like to tell everyone I am a recovering engineer who has found my calling.  I thoroughly enjoy teaching here at Kazoo School

If I am not in the classroom you can find me on a football pitch (soccer field) coaching and cheering my boys youth travel soccer teams, or cheering for my boys at a local hockey rink.  I don't get much free time, because children are my life.

During the summers, I spend most of my time on the water.  I love to water ski, sail, windsurf, and kayak my homemade kayak on the various lakes of Michigan.  In the winter, I long for the endless slopes of Colorado.  I am a passionate Rocky Mountain Ski snob.  The steeper the slope and the deeper the snow the happier I am.

The parents and children who make up the wonderful community of Kazoo School make teaching here a dream come true; stop by and see children who love to learn.