Professional Profile

  I’m a passionate and visionary teacher and leader in arts integration instruction and understand Common Core Standards and their connections to the arts.  I provide content and pedagogical expertise, course development, modeling best instructional practices resulting in student engagement and success. I  observe classroom literacy instruction and arts integration and provide teachers and grade level teams with supportive feedback. I am familiar with VAPA budgets, funding, and grants.  I serve in an urban elementary school with a high number of English Learners and low-income population.

         Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator

                 for Edison Bethune Charter Academy

          Arts Integration Specialist  

          Literacy Lead and Coach    

          Reading Specialist   Writing Coordinator

          Creator and Owner of Wonder Time Arts

          Contracted Visual Arts Exhibitor for Fresno County Office of  

                 Education VAPA Events

          Artist

Educational Experience

Visual Art Single Subject Credential,   Fresno County Office of Education (Filed 8/2013)

Fresno Pacific University         Degree: Masters of Reading Language Arts;                                                   Reading Specialist (2001)

California State University            Reading Recovery certificated 1998          

Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential (1987)     Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

All Required Examines Taken and Passed

National Teachers Examine         Graduate Record Examine           CBEST                    SADIE/ELD Certification

CSET Single Subject Art Part I & ll 

I love collaborating with teachers to create cross -curricular instruction. Even more than double chocolate cake, I love when we work together to create units that builds children’s understanding of how the arts connect to all areas of life.  All 570 students visit me for 40 minutes a week. My room is called “The Artist’s Café” where love and imagination is served daily and examples of nature’s gifts abound. I made a Café menu for each grade level using the California Visual Art Standards and the new National Art Standards. This makes a great resource for parents who want to be involved with our classroom learning as well as a place to show case our lessons.    The feeling of being in a Parisian Café, discussing art and writing our thoughts while soft music plays, has definitely brought out our inner- bohemians and  has been so much fun!  They look on the menu board for their daily objectives!  Oo La La`

• C    Creating with the arts Creative Expression
• A    Articulating about the arts using the language of arts  Artistic Perception
• F    Finding connections and understanding historical and cultural diversity of the arts as well as ways the arts connect to other subjects and the other art forms. Historical & Cultural Context, Connections, Relationships and Applications
• E   Engaging with the arts- Evaluating the arts, learning to write art criticisms, use rubrics, and make informed judgments. Aesthetic  Valuing

A few of my favorite Lessons

Assessments

Metacognition is embedded into every lesson, Students are asked to be mindful of what choices they make and attend to the results they get. They are  asked to evaluate their work and express their opinions about their art and others. We use rubrics which set a way to make evaluation clearly understood. There is no more "Teacher is this good?" We refer to the rubric.It gives students a way to judge their work and others.