"I have been a high school English teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District for over two decades. For the first ten years, I specialized in Tier-2 intervention programs for struggling readers, including LANGUAGE! and Read180. I also worked on special projects for the district, such as the Common Core Cadre and the Writing Fellowship, and I taught weekend programs to prepare students for taking standardized tests. As a result, I know a lot of ways to help students improve their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.

From 2013 to 2017, I took a break from classroom teaching, working instead as a Title III instructional coach. My job was to support teachers by modeling effective strategies for helping English Learners achieve English language proficiency. At the end of that four-year break, I returned to the classroom, and I have been teaching ninth grade English (regular and Honors) ever since. In 2020, I also became the only person in LAUSD teaching German as part of the regular daily schedule. My school embraces full inclusion, so my teaching includes differentiation for English Learners, students with disabilities, and students identified as gifted.

I possess a comprehensive knowledge of both the California State Standards for English Language Arts and the California English Language Language Development Standards, as well as the World Language Standards at the novice level (I alternate teaching German 1 and 2). I hold a master's degree in the Social and Cultural Analysis of Education from Cal State Long Beach and a bachelor of arts in English and German from the University of La Verne. My single subject teaching credential authorizes me to teach both subjects from pre-K through adult school." less...