What is your professional background?

I put myself through college and I received my first degree in English Education. I took a year in the Sacramento area to begin substitute teaching while I decided on elementary education as my specialty. I started teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). While in LAUSD, I taught students with diverse language and economic backgrounds. I then moved to Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD). While in teaching, I have taught Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, and Fifth grades. I really do not have a favorite, each was just as fun as the next.

I decided to get my Masters of Science while teaching and I was inspired by the administrators in my district, SVUSD. My superintendent, the late Peter Hartman, was one of my instructors in my Masters program and he opened my eyes to all that administrators do for schools and how difficult, yet necessary it was to do the job right. He filled our district with quality administrators, and his legacy is still felt today.

After receiving my Masters with a 4.0 GPA, I was hired as an elementary assistant principal in SVUSD. I served as an assistant principal for a school with over 1400 students and 75 staff members. It was a wonderful experience. I took a year off to start my family and decided to teach while I raised my little boys. This was when I decided to pitch an educational advice column to the Orange County Register. The editors were excited, and I began writing the column in 2004. The column has provided me with an array of contacts, information, and insight from readers on all the different aspects of education from Kindergarten through College. I never stop learning, and I love that I have a career that allows me to do that every day.