I started with Iola, USD 257  in 2021 at McKinley Elementary as the Kindergarten Title 1 Teacher.  in my 30 years of teaching, this was my first postion as a non-classroom educator.  Although I enjoyed working with all of the kindergarters, I was eager to have my own classroom again and was excited to be a Kindergarten Classroom teacher at the new IES this year!  Note: This was my first year ever teaching in a brand new building!  

I started my teaching career in 1992 with a couple of long-term sub assignments.  My first teaching contract was in Fall of 1992 in a multi-age classroom of 1^st and 2^nd grade at Price-Harris Elementary.  I taught 1^st/2^nd for 3 years and 3^rd/4^th for 2 years while at Price-Harris.  

In 1997, I moved to East Heights UMC Preschool as a Preschool Teacher.  I was a full-time teacher at East Heights for 6 years, teaching various ages from 2 and 3 year olds to Pre-K to Transitional Kindergarten.  After my first 6 years there, I became the half-time co-Director of the Preschool andPre-K Teacher half-time.  After 2 more years, I became the sole Director of the Preschool and continued to teach one Pre-K class in the afternoons each year.  East Heights UMC Preshool was my school home for 21 years.

In 2017 we moved to Pretty Prairie, KS.  I continue to drive in to East Heights in Wichita for 2 years.  In 2019, I became the Kindergarten teacher at Pretty Prairie Elementary.  I enjoyed Living and teaching in that small community and was at PPES until we moved for my husband’s job in 2021.  

I have been married to my husband Christopher for 30 years.  We currently live in Fort Scott where my husband is the Pastor at Fort Scott First UMC. We have 2 sons.  Our oldest, Ian is 27 and was married in summer of 2022. Ian is an Assistant Baseball Coach at Dordt University in Sioux City, IA, where he lives with his wife Jordan who also works at Dordt University.  Our youngest son Aaron is 24 and is in Graduate School at Missouri Western State University in St Joseph, MO and is the Graduate Assistant Baseball coach for MWSU.  We have a senior dog named Pepper who is a Cairn Terrier.

I love to read!  My favorites genres are mysteries and historical fiction.  My favorite sport is baseball!  I throughly enjoyed watching my sons play baseball from micro-teeball through college and now enjoy watching them coach!  I also enjoy traveling and am always up for a road trip!  My favorite places to visit are the ocean (any coast) and the mountains!