I am a high school special education teacher for Lewiston High School.  I have been married for 34 years, and am a proud mother of 3 children.  After my youngest started preschool, I decided it was time to go back to school. I graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Social Studies and a minor in History. I worked as a para educator in Clarkston Washington for a year and fell in love with the field of special education. I added my special education certification and have been teaching for the past 12 years, 4 in elementary and 8 in high school.
in 2015, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Denver training with Susan Barton, internationally known for her work in dyslexia and the Barton Reading and spelling system. Through that training, I learned about the characteristics of dyslexia and strategies for screening. I developed a passion for dyslexia, but was frustrated because it was not recognized as a disability, and screening students created a conflict of issue for me as a special education teacher. When Idaho passed the dyslexia law in 2023, I was asked to participate in an IEA task force to develop a dyslexia class for educators, I was thrilled that something was finally happening. I worked with 8 other professionals in the field to develop the class "Understanding and Supporting Dyslexic Learners", and have been co-teaching it in different regions in Idaho for the past year. In addition to this class, I also teach a class focusing on the strengths of students with dyslexia. This class is based off of the book, "The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain".