My education began in numerous school systems due to my father’s Navy career. I settled in North Carolina when I attended Elon College (now Elon University) from 1991-1996, majoring in elementary education. After teaching in the Alamance-Burlington school system for one year, I transferred to coastal Onslow County and have been teaching first, second or fifth grade ever since. I earned my Master’s degree from UNC Wilmington and am planning to begin work on a second Master’s degree in school administration and curriculum instruction at ECU through the Principal Fellows program this fall.

Transcript of the Interview (PDF)

Jump to question:

1. Imagine someone visited your class several times, what would they say the principal teaching strategies you use are? Could you talk about teaching strategies you use that are universal, and as well as strategies that are somewhat unique to you and your personality?
2. How do you organize your class to maximize learning opportunities for your students? How do you help them become better learners?
3. How do you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of students with special needs (EC, ESL, AIG, etc.)?
4. How do you know when learning is occurring and what do you do when you question whether learning is taking place in the classroom?
5. How do you “hook” a reluctant learner to your content?
6. If you were to give advice to a new teacher in North Carolina, what 2-3 learnings would you share?