In no particular order, here are a few random facts about me: I’m a word-nerd and think languages are fascinating, love the water, enjoy cooking and eating all kinds of foods, like psychological tv dramas and British t.v. shows, am married to a soccer-playing word-nerd, have two awesome little boys, hate brussel sprouts, lived in the Czech Republic for a year, would choose time travel if I could have a superpower, find myself reading memoirs more than fiction, dabble in photography, have fun doing outdoor activities, care deeply about social justice, and love being a teacher more than I can say.

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, the oldest of four to British parents living in the U.S. I lived abroad a few times as a kid--in Italy and England--and I spent half of my senior year of college studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. I earned my BA in English with a minor in theatre from Albion College and my MA in English from Wayne State University. I started teaching at Lahser High School in 2000 and have been a part of Bloomfield Hills Schools ever since, with a one-year hiatus in 2005-2006 when I was teaching in Boskovice, Czech Republic as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher. I now teach English at the merged Bloomfield Hills High School.

I am a big proponent of Standards-Based Grading, student choice, a workshop-model classroom, and building relationships between students, parents, and the school community. I try to embrace change, challenge myself to get outside my comfort zone, and do my best to model learning for my students.