A Teacher and Educator
I attended public schools in Lovelady, Texas throughout my childhood and youth, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Business Administration with a minor in English from Sam Houston State University. I was the first in my family to graduate college.
From a young age, I loved school. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn.
I'm proud to say I've spent my entire life as a student and educator.
After getting my Bachelor degree, I began teaching remedial reading at Lovelady Junior High. I quickly realized I knew nothing about teaching reading. So back to school I went.
I attended classes at Sam Houston State University and began to implement in my classroom what I learned at the university. I completed a Masters of Education in Reading from SHSU in 1988 with a reading specialist certification.
But there was so much more still to learn.
In 1994 I completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M.
I've worked as an Assistant Professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, an Associate Professor at Sam Houston State University, the Program Director for Secondary Language Arts in Spring ISD, and a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Houston. I've also been a lecturer at the University of St. Thomas since 1999.
For the past sixteen years, I've taken what I've learned and consulted in classrooms across Texas, primarily in low-performing schools, helping those schools meet state and national standards.
In total, I've spent twenty-eight years as a Texas educator.
I was in the classroom when Texas adopted its first state standards in the mid 80s. Since then, I've worked with students and teachers through a variety of standards and tests. There's been TABS then TEAMS then TAAS then TAKS — and now STAAR.
The focus has shifted from teaching to testing — from improving instruction to improving test scores. This has caused many schools and districts to focus entirely on test prep and benchmark testing — leaving no time for teachers to prepare or provide quality instruction.
It’s time to move to action!
The one proven, research-based component to improving the quality of education in our state is to recruit, support and retain an expert teacher in every classroom.
It's something we can achieve together.