I moved to Florida 12 years ago from Toronto, Canada, where I taught for 19 years.
Since coming to Florida I have received a Master’s in English Education and National Board Certification as well as endorsements in Gifted, ESOL and Reading. I am also a trainer for Marzano and CARPD.
As a teacher I would describe myself as innovative, caring, and hardworking. I have always had a great rapport with my students. I try to be connected and relevant to my students by listening to them and empowering their voices.
I have a strong interest in technology and multimedia, which I integrate into my English program whenever possible. I have been using blogs for two years and I teach my students to create short films using iMovie and Final Cut Pro. I am a participant in Classroom 2.0 which is a community of educators using Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies.
I use innovative reading programs that include reading circles, film study and independent reading supported by an extensive classroom library. To support reading I helped to organize a school-wide literacy event where we invited local authors and a guest author, Sharon Draper, to participate in a week of reading related activities. 
I have written many grants to fund an objective that I believe is integral to all teaching programs and that is, social responsibility. I have a project that I call The Power of One that encourages students to make a difference. This has become an essential question for how I design thematic units and for incorporating technology.
Finally, in recent years I have directed myself into the role of teacher leadership. As English Department Chair I have embraced the need to not only collaborate with teachers, but to also to create consistency and commonality in our English department. I have led many workshops for teachers and organized conferences.
As a media specialist I was trained in an innovative program called “Partners in Action” through York University in Toronto. Partners in Action promoted the idea that a school librarian was a teaching partner with classroom teachers and not just a cataloguer and shelver of books.
