About Me
I received my original teaching credential in Business Education from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. After raising a family and moving to California, I returned to school to earn a Multiple-Subject California teaching credential from Azusa Pacific University. I came to Julian Charter School in August 2007 as the Site Coordinator of the Murrieta Learning Center, where we served approximately 150 home school students by offering weekly enrichment classes for those wishing to enjoy the classroom environment. The following year, I personally stepped back into the classroom teaching Math in grades 6-8 for the newly formed Murrieta Middle School Academy (MMSA). This academy provides core instruction by credentialed teachers 3 days a week. The other 2 days a week, students remain at home under the supervision of a parent to complete teacher-assigned work. My classroom experiences with MMSA then branched out to also include other subjects such as Language Arts, Writing, Digital Literacy, and Yearbook. Along with the classroom experiences, I also supported our Site Coordinator by mentoring new teachers, managing student related issues, and streamlining processes & procedures. In July 2014, I accepted the position of Site Coordinator for the Murrieta Middle School Academy, where I currently serve.
With the above experiences, the need for this project quickly became evident. As our academy grew and new teachers were hired, several voiced their confusion with the various online programs that are used, as well as the all important paperwork that is required monthly for state auditors. Furthermore, teachers who transferred into our academy from our home study program voiced similar concerns over the different procedures and record keeping that academies require. As a teacher leader on campus, I found myself explaining the same policies & procedures over and over again to several teachers; then, over and over again to the same teachers the following month, as the requirements became due again. Eventually, teachers would learn to follow the procedures without coaching. However, if given the opportunity, I strongly believe that if this training became somewhat formalized with a manual for follow-up referencing, teachers would be able to spend less time focused on paperwork and record keeping and more time on student needs. |