These are two of my favorite titles.

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I am a mom to two spirited daughters who keep me on my toes and keep me smiling every single day.  They love school, their friends, and their music and sport activities.  This also means I have spent a lot of time in the car with them, and I now proudly know the lyrics to their favorite Disney, Hamilton, and Taylor Swift songs (so. much. Taylor).

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I am a mom who loves to attend their soccer, lacrosse, and tennis games (usually with a Dunks coffee in hand).  I pride myself on knowing their teammates' names, and I sometimes cheer too loudly.  I have met many people across Andover and shared many sideline conversations about our kids, our schools, and our town.

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I am a mom who relishes walking downtown with my girls, reflecting on how lucky we are to live in such a welcoming and engaging community.  We enjoy sitting in the shade at the park, climbing the big acorn at the playground, picking out sour gummy worms at Sweet Mimi's, searching for books at the Andover Bookstore, and popping into Learning Express for lengthy negotiation sessions over toys.  We also look forward to Clown Town, Fourth of July fireworks, the ACE scarecrows, the Feaster Five, and the Santa Parade.  I am constantly appreciative of the fact that my children will grow up in a town feeling like they are part of something bigger.  

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I am a teacher who tries to instill this same idea in my students.  They are part of something bigger.  They matter.  As a high school English teacher, I turn to literature to show them examples of our shared human experience.  Since 2004, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of young adults who have taught and inspired me just as much as I hope I have taught and inspired them.  

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I am a teacher who loves learning.  My favorite part of lesson planning is the research stage; I get blissfully lost in absorbing new information, and I find joy in making connections to prior knowledge.  I recently connected a Taylor Swift song to Petrarchan sonnets (my students rolled their eyes, too).  I also love learning from my brilliant and talented colleagues about their subject matter and their best classroom practices. 

 

And most importantly, I am a teacher who loves learning about my students.  Today was a student's birthday, and I discovered that his favorite cake is vanilla with vanilla frosting.  Another student was going home to help her younger sister work on a huge Lego project.  Another is interested in rockets and presented at a professional astronautics conference.  And another is being scouted by the National Futsal Premier League next Saturday.  Each student is a unique and valuable individual with important stories to tell, and I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with them every single day.  

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My kids.  Your kids.  They are all OUR kids.  Let's remember that as we think about the future of education in Andover.  

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Please join me.

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