Welcome to the wonderful world of Kindergarten at Swansboro Elementary School! 

Education:

I started out my education career at North Carolina State University.  At the time, I thought I wanted to be a high school English teacher.  When I started volunteering in my mother's first grade classroom I realized that I wanted to teach little ones!  I came home, married and had my oldest son while I finished with my elementary degree from UNC at Wilmington through the Watson School of Education.  I had a superb experience with my student teaching on base at Johnson Primary where I taught a combination K-1 classroom.  I have to say, most of my learning came from working in my mother's classroom and observing her teach.  I saw how much she loved her job and she was my inspiration to become a teacher. 

Biography:

I began my teaching career at Summersill Elementary School in Jacksonville, North Carolina.  I was blessed to have the opportunity to teach a multiage classroom in 2008-2009 that had Kindergarteners and First Graders.   What a wonderful experience!  I taught my first three years at Summersill Elementary and moved to Swansboro to be closer to home in 2009.  I was a teacher's assistant for a year and a half at Swansboro, so it was like coming back home.

My passion is teaching children and watching their "light bulb" light up when they have mastered something new.  I encourage students to always try their best, no matter how hard the task at hand may seem.  I strive to find new and exciting ways to teach and have really enjoyed learning about new technology to use in the classroom.  I think having an open relationship with the parents and having the support from home is very beneficial to how a child performs in school.  It is important that everyone works together with the best interest of the child in mind.  I have high expectations for all of my students no matter what background or previous experiences they may have had.  My goal is to inspire all of my children to reach for the stars!  It is important to me that my students love learning as much as I love teaching.  I am so blessed to be doing exactly what I love and to be surrounded by such wonderful and supportive staff!

I was raised in Carteret County and went to Carteret County schools until high school when I attended Swansboro High School.  I love the Swansboro area and do not think I could ever leave!  I have three beautiful boys that are my world!  My children are my life and are why I work so hard.  I would love for them to all be teachers one day! 

I am also a VIPKid teacher and get to work with students online that live in China! It is a wonderful way for me to have a second job teaching and doing something that I love!

Swansboro Elementary School Teacher of the Year 2015-2016

2017 NC Coastal Federation Brown Pelican Award

2017 OCS Elementary Math Teacher of the Year

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."  -Forest E. Whitcraft

"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." -Haim Ginott

"For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."