II. Educational History and Professional Development (Limit: Two double-spaced pages)

A. Beginning with the most recent, list colleges and universities and post-graduate studies, with degrees earned and dates attended.

Master of Education Dallas Baptist University August 2002Bachelor of Science in education Baylor University 1990

B. Beginning with the most recent, list teaching employment history, with time periods, grade levels and subject areas.

Birdville Independent School DistrictSmithfield Elementary: first grade, all subject areas, 2008 to presentSmithfield Elementary: second grade, all subject areas, 2005-2008Smithfield Elementary: first grade, all subject areas 1998-2005Richland Elementary: third grade, all subject areas 1997- 1998Richland Elementary: second grade, all subject areas, 1995-1997Snow Heights Elementary: fifth grade, math and science, 1994-1995Richland Elementary: first grade, all subject areas, 1992-1994

Fort Worth Independent School DistrictMitchell Boulevard Elementary: first grade, all subject areas, 1990- 1992

C. Beginning with the most recent, list professional association memberships, offices held and other relevant activities.

Association of Texas Professional EducatorsTreasurer, Birdville local unit, 2009- presentPresident, 2005- 2009Membership Chairperson, 2000- 2005Vice President – newsletter 1996- 2000Campus Representative 1993-1994, 1998- 2000Member since 1989

Other Professional MembershipsInternational Reading AssociationTexas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts

D. Beginning with the most recent, list staff development leadership activity and leadership activity in the training of future teachers.

Textbook adoption committee 1999, 2009, 2010Literacy Roundtable Representative 2009 to presentModel teacher for student observers 2009- present Supervisor of student teacher 1998 and 2011Parent Training- February 2011, how to help your child become a readerVolunteer Training- Wildcat Readers Fall of 2008Region 11 Presenter at Summer Reading Conference 2004 and 2005Magic Bag of Tricks (one of the region 11 sessions) presented to our own staff in 2007Supervisor Ready Set Teach students 2002 and 2006

E. Beginning with the most recent, list awards and other recognition.

“My Magical Daily Five Journey,” an article journaling my implementation of Bouchey and Moser’s Daily 5, was published in the TCTELA journal, English in Texas, in January 2011.

I was featured with Smithfield Elementary for our International Literacy Day activities in the January 2011 issue of Reading Today, (the International Reading Association newspaper).

Smithfield Elementary Teacher of the Month for September 2010.

I have received multiple nominations for H-E-B Teacher of the Year.

Region 11 ATPE Educator scholarship recipient in 2001.

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III. Professional Biography (Limit: Two double-spaced pages)

What are the background, people and events that persuaded you to become a teacher?Describe your most significant contributions and accomplishments in education.

Faces. Faces define my teaching career. Great-Aunt Laverne’s face first influenced my teaching. Aunt Laverne

was a lifelong spinster schoolteacher. She regularly invited students who were struggling to her home for tutorials on her

large, screened-in back porch. I loved my visits to Aunt Laverne’s house. She would take me out to the back porch where

we would sit at the old kitchen table, loaded with all sorts of manipulatives and teaching materials. She would hand me

each item and describe a child she was teaching, what the child’s struggles were, and how she used the item to help them

learn. Long before my formal training as a teacher began, Aunt Laverne was planting the seeds that would enable me to

assess and meet the needs of my students. Even now, my biggest strength as a teacher is individualized instruction, thanks

to Great-Aunt Laverne.

As I peek through the album that traces my career, the next face I see belongs to Chase. He found me in my

second year at my first teaching assignment in an elementary school full of low income, minority students. While I loved

the students, I found myself stuck in a mire of outdated educational philosophy that did not allow me to use my strengths

in the classroom. Then, along came Chase. He arrived in my first grade classroom reading several grade levels above

expectations, an incredibly talented artist and author, with an inquisitive passion for science. Chase taught me that

individualization was as important for the overachiever as it was for the struggling student. All year long, a second, secret

set of lesson plans was created just for him. As the rest of the class received the instruction required by the campus

administrator, I pulled Chase to the side, immersed him in rich literature and research projects, gave him time and space to

write, and even collaborated with him as illustrator on some books I created for my lowest readers. We attended a young

author’s conference and he moved into the elementary math and science magnet school the next year.

As I turn the album page to the beginning of my career in Birdville Independent School District, a veritable sea of

faces appears - so many mentors who helped me along, so many children who inspired me. I see a former principal

standing at my door with Cody, who had just been called for an early dismissal, and hear her voice saying “I don’t know

what you are doing in here, but he started crying that he didn’t want to leave, so dad is going to let him stay.” I see the

excited faces of children pulled to the corner by the window for instruction, so that we can continue learning on a day

without electricity. I see students like Ian, Morgan, and Jordan, who each arrived in my classroom frustrated and

performing below expectations, and who departed successful lovers of reading.

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At this point in the album, I began to think: How could I add more faces like Ian’s, Jordan’s, and Morgan’s to the

album? The twenty- two students I serve each year are a drop in the bucket, compared to the many in need. It was then I

saw the faces of my colleagues and realized it was time to give of the treasures I had received. I sought opportunities to

share with others, as a presenter at our regional service center, as well as through formal and informal meetings on our

campus. I accepted responsibility for assisting staff at our school in the implementation of a framework for reading

instruction called the Daily 5. To encourage my coworkers, I created a journal of my experience with the framework

which I rewrote into an article published in the winter 2011 edition of English in Texas, titled “A Magical Journey Toward

the Daily Five Framework.” Faces from many places came for a peek inside my classroom.

I looked at the faces I have passed up the grades and wondered how to create a sense of unity. How could we tie

what happened in first grade to later learning? I led our school to participate in International Literacy Day for the first

time, using a strategy called “One School, One Book.” For one day in September, our campus immersed itself in the

study of a single book, sharing experiences in a mixed-grade format. Four hundred faces of students and adults were

added to the album.

Then I saw the faces of parents. Many faces carried worry and distress of students who had difficulty reading.

They were confused about the meaning of test results and unsure how to help students improve. I created a reading

workshop for first grade parents, where we explained the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) reports, and gave

ideas and materials to improve each subtest area. The faces on this page now showed comfort and relief.

The album still has many pages left to fill. I continue to look for ways to serve the faces that appear. In the

tumultuous times for public education, I cannot forget the faces. The faces are the reason that I do what I do. The faces

are what all concerned with public education need to see and remember.

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IV. Community Involvement (Limit: One double-spaced page)

Describe service-oriented involvement, such as volunteer work, civic and other group activities.

Community service is an important way to widen vision beyond a single classroom. My community service activities fall

into three areas. One specific area involves working toward advancement in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research - especially in the

pediatric area. My daughter was diagnosed with MS in 2007 at the age of 12. We had little in the area of resources and support

available to us in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, as the nearest pediatric MS center is in Houston. Our family began participating in the

Fort Worth MS walk just a few weeks after Sarah’s diagnosis. Raising money for research and public awareness that MS can be a

pediatric problem and is not limited to just adults are our two major goals. I am also currently the administrator of a fundraiser with

the slogan “eat a cane so others might not need one.” Designed by my daughter and her National Junior Honor Society sponsor, this

fundraiser sells candy canes at Christmas to raise money for the National MS Society. My task involves recruiting new locations and

maintaining relationships with the sponsors. What began on one campus has now spread to three and has been taken up by fifteen

Beall’s department stores.

My commitment to the Association of Texas Professional Educators demonstrates my second area of civic focus. Having

served in all areas from campus representative to president at the local level, I currently work as the treasurer of Birdville ATPE.

Through this association, I have been a campus resource to teachers, served on district committees and advisory boards, served

annually as a state convention delegate, and attended face to face meetings with legislators in Austin. These responsibilities allow me

to support my colleagues in public education.

Another major concentration of my civic activities centers around my church. In addition to participating in the worship

choir, my primary ministry focus is community outreach. Beginning at Birdville Baptist Church, and more recently at North Richland

Hills Baptist Church, I have participated in seven domestic mission trips involving a variety of community activities. On our latest trip

to Aurora, Colorado, I created a curriculum for and directed a day camp at a nature center in the area. I have co-directed a summer

music camp for children and served as director or assistant in children’s choirs for many years. I also serve as the projects chair for

our Bible study group. This group has adopted my school, conducting a book drive for the primary grades, painting a US map, four

square and basketball lines on the blacktop, and providing a week of evening “day camp” activities on the campus grounds two

summers in a row. These activities give me a sense of balance; they help me keep my perspective on faces, not just the “teaching.”

These three distinct areas of focus, supporting MS research serving as a leader in ATPE, and community outreach through my church,

represent the three major facets of my life: my family, my profession, and my community.

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V. Philosophy of Teaching (Limit: Two double-spaced pages)

Describe your personal feelings and beliefs about teaching, including your own ideas of what makes you an outstanding teacher. Describe the rewards you find in teaching. How are your beliefs about teaching demonstrated in your personal teaching style?

When I think about my philosophy of education, the “why” of what I do, I go back to the children. I do not teach

reading, or English, or math, I teach children. In Becoming Literate, New Zealand education researcher Marie Clay

reminds us that children are complex in their lives and development. Teachers must observe children and their

circumstances carefully. Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, the creators of the guided reading model, state that “children’s

interactions with written language are infused with personal meaning.” It is an easy thing to forget, but all I have to do is

think back to Cody’s face, crying in the hallway because he didn’t want to leave my classroom. I want all my students to

have that connection and longing for my classroom, not wanting to miss a moment.

That sense of belonging is critical to learning. In their book, The Daily 5, teaching sisters Bouschey and Moser

state that “taking time to build trust and demonstrate caring is the foundation upon which all other elements of our literacy

learning are built.” Marie Clay asserts that “children who are to move confidently into literacy must feel happy and

comfortable in their classroom and school.” If I want my students to be readers and writers, I must create that safe and

enjoyable environment for them. On the inside of my classroom door hangs a crumpled paper heart with the signatures of

myself and all my students. I crumpled the heart in front of them and then straightened it out. We talk about how the paper

heart can never be made to look like it was at the start and that hurtful words do the same thing- “I’m sorry” cannot erase

the wrinkles we put on the hearts of others. It only takes walking a child who has said mean things over to the heart and

asking the child to verbalize to me what it represents to restore the peace in my classroom. This sense of community

“provides members with ownership to hold others accountable for behaviors of effort, learning, order, and kindness,”

according to Bouschey and Moser. This is the classroom environment I strive daily to create.

Once the learner has achieved that place of comfort and is ready to learn, the first goal is to gain literacy.

According to the Russian psychologist Vygotsky, “the act of putting spoken words and unspoken thoughts into written

words releases, and in the process, changes the thoughts themselves.” In Proust and the Squid, researcher Maryanne Wolf

asserts that reading changes the brain both physiologically and intellectually. What a powerful thought - to know that I

enable my students to grow and create by teaching them to read! Learning to read in first grade is the cornerstone for a

child’s education. Set well, the child has a strong foundation for all future learning. Poorly laid, the tower is doomed to

fall.

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This critical task is not a simple one. Maryanne Wolf reveals that “reading has no direct genetic program passing

it on to future generations… that is why it does not come naturally to our children.” According to Mark Van Doren, an

American writer and editor, “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” That is certainly true of literacy. Marie

Clay asserted that children should be active constructors of their own language competencies. But if students do not come

pre-wired for reading, then how do we accomplish this task? Education researcher Don Holdaway states that “if children

could work on literacy tasks most of the time with a level of success, we would have solved the biggest problem in

learning to read and write.” Therefore, the first step in the process is to meet the child at the point of his knowledge base,

and provide literacy activities in which he/she can be successful. Students need to be immersed in large doses of reading

and writing practice at the appropriate performance level. Indeed, researcher Richard Allington has long asserted that

children need to spend large parts of the school day engaged in reading and writing. Time on task alone, however, is not

the complete solution. Fountas and Pinnell suggest that students should be “dynamically supported by an interaction of

text reading and good teaching.”

These ideas converge in my classroom in the implementation of the Daily 5 framework. For over two hours each

day, students are actively engaged in reading, writing and word study. Teaching occurs in large group, small group, and

individual conference settings. This combination allows standards to be taught while keeping in mind considering the

needs and abilities of each student. In this way, I can reach my goal of helping readers develop a self-extending system, as

described by Fountas and Pinnell.

Do first grade students need to learn math, science and social studies? Of course they do! Educators Patricia

Cunningham and Allington assert that the content areas are the hook for struggling readers. These subjects serve both as

interest stimulators and knowledge bases for students to understand what they read. The subject areas provide much of the

content for reading and writing practice during Daily 5. In addition, the balance of the instructional day is spent in

meaningful, hands-on activities that build knowledge that can be used when reading and writing. This never- ending

circle provides my students with the strong foundation they will need to become successful life-long learners.

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VI. Education Issues and Trends (Limit: Two double-spaced pages)

What do you consider to be the major issues in public education today? Address one in depth, outlining possible causes, effects and resolutions.

G.K Chesterson said that “education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” If that is the

case, then what does it say about American society when we look at the way the country currently views educators and the public

education system? Teachers are vilified as greedy labor union members; superintendents and school boards are accused of not being

fiscally responsible; funding is being slashed; competitive elements such as charter schools and vouchers are touted as the solution to

our education problems. As American business executive John Shultz observed: “we expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy,

substance abuse, and the failings of the family. Then we expect them to educate our children.” This tremendous expectation, when

coupled with funding issues and the current anti-educator sentiment, creates seemingly insurmountable obstacles for the classroom

teacher. Politicians love to wave the education flag- “I am for good schools, I love children and families!” However, the actions taken

often indicate an entirely different set of priorities. In order to create a truly successful public education system, all parties involved

must experience a significant change in thinking.

Are public schools under-funded? Absolutely. Are we experiencing a significant fiscal crisis in our country that limits the

money available to spend on education? Most certainly. Are many of our public schools failing? Unfortunately, yes. It is time to take a

deep breath and focus on the purpose of public education, - the children. Rather than allowing political agendas, salaries and

pensions, or business interests drive public education, it is time to place our rightful focus back in the center. Decisions about school

funding should be made considering the needs of the child, not the needs of businesses, political careers, or special interest lobbies.

Politicians are not the only parties at fault, however. Public schools cannot expect to receive respect and complete funding

when we have not shown ourselves to be faithful stewards. As education researchers Allington and Walmsley state, “schools exist for

children, not the adults working in them.” Too often, funding shortfalls cause funding cuts that do not make sense when viewing the

situation through the eyes of the child. When the belt gets tightened, often early intervention measures and class sizes are the first

items on the chopping block. Experts in reading Fountas and Pinnell found that early intervention is necessary to move students into

literacy before efforts are complicated by the emotional weight of failure. Researcher Pikuksi has documented effectiveness of early

intervention compared with interventions begun after second grade. Yet where do we often prioritize our expenditures? Standardized

testing and remediation in grades three and up. Furthermore, McGill- Franzen and Allington have found that we often spend

substantial sums of money on remediation efforts that have been documented as ineffective, when that money could be used to

decrease class sizes and make a significant impact on the lives of students. What we do today as educators must be tested and found

effective if we are to be trusted with more.

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With a finite amount of money available, teachers must balance desires for increased compensation and benefits with need

for technology, programs and materials that will move our students forward. We need to insist on placing emphasis on early

interventions and to state clearly that small class sizes are not for the benefit of lessening teacher workloads, but to allow the

individualization of instruction that will provide the highest level of success for our students. Advocating such a position requires that

educators show responsibility by consistently using best practices and designing lessons according to student needs. Just as the

medical and legal professions enforce standards for members of their vocation, it is time for educators to stand up for doing the right

thing and hold each other accountable. It is only when we show ourselves committed to the cause of children that we can gain the

attention of the other stakeholders to help us move forward.

Business leaders need to understand that while they have a right to express their needs and desires for schools, that

expression comes with a responsibility to help. As our society grows and changes, donations of goods and services, money, and time

help close the ever-widening gap between the needs and funds available. Many businesses are stepping forward, but many more are

content to let slip by the opportunity to assist. The simplest gift businesses can give to schools is time. With fewer and fewer parents

willing or able to participate in schools, businesses can provide flexible time for parents to be involved, as well as time for employees

without school- aged children who would like to participate in volunteer projects in local schools. Parents should not be forced to

choose between employment and a child’s education. Indeed, businesses have a vested interest in making certain the future workforce

is well- prepared.

If “the schools of a country are its future in miniature,” as Chinese educator and diplomat Tehyi Hseih has written, all parties

with an interest in public education need to come together to agree on solutions for our fiscal difficulties. It is time for us to make a

change for the good of our children and the good of our country. We need to seek solutions that are researched and have documented

success rates. What is not effective should be cut, with monies channeled to programs and materials that are proven effective. We

need to focus on reaching children early, where remediation is proven most effective. Small class sizes and remediation at the earliest

level will raise test scores and decrease remediation costs as students continue through school. Let us all sit down together, and

evaluate where we spend our money. It is only through true collaboration that we can truly provide a quality education for our

students.

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VII. The Teaching Profession (Limit: Two double-spaced pages)

What do you do to strengthen and improve the teaching profession? What is or should be the basis for accountability in the teaching profession?

According to educator A. Bartlett Giamatti, “teaching is an instructional art, mindful of potential, craving of

realization, a pausing, seamless process.” Giamatti describes a truly professional educator. Fountas and Pinnell elaborate

further when they state that “the critical factor in a child’s education is the support, direction, demonstration, and

encouragement toward independence that she receives from her teacher.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines a

professional as “one who has an assured competence in a field or occupation.” In education, we display our competence

with college degrees and certifications, much like doctors and lawyers. Educators are not laborers, repeating the same task

over and over again, but artists and designers, with each day presenting a new challenge.

Teachers need to behave as professionals. Our task and our calling are to meet the needs of our students. Our

students and our parents expect nothing less. We are to be their examples, to conduct ourselves with earnestness and

civility. Do we expect any less from the children? It is painful to watch newscasts day after day which show educators

behaving in an unprofessional manner. I know that the media, the politicians, and the public see me as one of them,

simply because I bear the title “teacher.” In the current political climate, this is our most important task - to prove our

worth through professional, successful behavior.

What does a professional educator look like? A professional educator arrives in the classroom dressed to set a

positive example for students. She treats students and adults with civility and respect. She plans and executes lessons

using standards and best practices at all times. When conflicts arise, a professional educator meets those conflicts with

intelligence, using research and data to support positions in a respectful discussion. A true professional arrives at the table

with possible solutions, not demands.

How does one hold a professional accountable? In labor, you can evaluate the quality of the product, whether

cookies or a car. However, a baker rejects inferior ingredients, a manufacturer returns defective parts. Educators must

accept every student entering the classroom as they are. Requiring teachers to meet an arbitrary test score with such

discrepancy of raw materials is not a reasonable request. How do we judge other professional vocations? Do we judge

doctors by how many of their patients die? We would not have many oncologists if that were the case. An excellent

teacher using best practices to teach to standards can move a child forward even two years of growth in an academic year,

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but if that child was more than two years behind, the student will still not achieve the magic test score needed to show that

teacher “competent.” In the same way, a doctor may use the best treatments available and still lose a patient.

Determining teacher competency by student test scores is harmful for students as well as teachers. When is it

acceptable that a kindergarten student should be so distressed about a gifted and talented placement test that she

accidentally poked her pencil lead into her forehead? This incident occurred because the campus involved had set the

goal of having the most identified gifted students in the district. Students completed practice sheets daily for weeks

before the test date arrived. Even on a small elementary campus like my own, having at least one child become physically

ill during state-mandated testing is an annual occurrence. Is this the education experience we desire for our children?

We judge doctors by standards and best practices. Professional educators should be judged in the same way.

When teachers consistently teach to standards using the best practices as determined by our field, students will learn and

grow. A system that monitors a teacher’s use of the standards and best practices as currently accepted within the

profession is the most accurate method we have for judging teachers. When properly administered, The Professional

Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) system currently in use in Texas serves this purpose well. The key to PDAS

or any similar system is ensuring that those in charge of administration leverage the instrument properly and ensure that

teachers are correctly executing instructional practices and the self assessment tools in the instrument. The method is in

place for mandating steps to improvement or removal if improvement does not occur. The time and documentation

required is a protection for both sides. We do not want a single set of difficult circumstances destroying a teacher’s career,

nor do we want every termination to be subject to litigation. When the documentation and growth plan procedures are

properly followed, protections are in place for both the teacher and the evaluator.

Teaching is not just a job; it is a profession. It is governed by standards and certifications. Educators should

behave as professionals, and be treated as professionals, not just for their own sakes, but for the good of the children.

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VIII. State Teacher of the Year (Limit: One double-spaced page)

As the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, you would become a spokesperson and representative of the profession. What would be your message? What would you communicate to your profession and to the general public?

I am a teacher. I do not teach reading, math, science, or social studies. I teach children. Researchers Allington

and Wallmsley remind us that the primary purpose of schools is to educate children. Indeed, according to Marilyn

French, an American writer, “to nourish children ... is more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons.”

In education today, we seem to have lost this vision. Education is not about collective bargaining, exclusive consultation,

pensions, or political gain. Public education is first and foremost about the children.

Public education requires the cooperation of teachers, administrators, politicians, business leaders, and parents.

We must all sit down together at the table with the children at the center of focus. Setting aside all other agendas,

decisions should be made for the benefit of the children. In these times of fiscal difficulty, we cannot afford to spend

money in ways that will not reach our goal of preparing students to be productive adults. Students deserve the most

qualified teachers; the way to do that is to ensure that teachers are fairly compensated to attract quality candidates into the

profession. However, students need additional ingredients to achieve success. First and foremost, students need time with

a quality teacher. Smaller class sizes provide that time and attention. Technology distributed evenly across all grades and

economic levels is essential to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. Emphasis needs to be placed on resources for

early intervention for students having difficulty. We have to work together to balance these needs to create the best

possible outcomes for our children. When we think first about what is best for our students, we truly have the opportunity

to make a difference.

As child psychologist Haim Ginott explains “teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate

tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.” Our task is complicated enough. Let us set aside

the controversial issues that distract us and weigh us down and remember our purpose. As John Lubbock, financier and

author said, “if we succeed in giving the love of learning, the learning itself is sure to follow.”

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