This photo of Daniela and me was taken over ten years ago while she and her husband, Edu, and their two sons, Ulises and Darío, visited from Spain.

 

My passion for Spain and the Spanish language and culture began when I was in high school in Pennsylvania.  I hosted Daniela, a Spanish exchange student from Valencia, Spain, during my senior year.  We became best friends, and I lived in Valencia with her family the following year.  I fell in love with the food, the people, and the culture of Spain that year!

 

The following year, I studied Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Delaware, where I earned my Bachelor's degree.  I spent my last semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain.  After moving to Virginia and getting married to my husband, Scott, I decided that I wanted to teach Spanish.  I completed the Fairfax Transition to Teaching program at The George Washington University.  I taught levels 1, 2, 3, and a combined 4/AP Spanish at La Plata High School for over three years, and earned my Master's of Education from GWU in 2002.  I took a long break from teaching so that I could be home to raise our three children, Graham, Gavin, and Vivian.  I returned to teaching when our children were all of school age, starting with teaching preschool Spanish at the King George YMCA.  I taught Spanish 1 at KGHS during the spring 2014 semester, and did 3 months of long-term subbing for Spanish at KGMS during the winter of 2015.  I have been teaching levels 1, 2 and 3 since that time. This year I will be teaching levels 3, 4 Honors, and 5 AP. I am excited for the challenge!

​

Through my experiences abroad and observations of successful teachers, I am convinced of the importance of learning Spanish by using Spanish in the classroom, not just learning about the language.  I believe that if students hear and read a lot of comprehensible input, they will learn language more naturally (much like a baby learns), and will be able to understand and communicate better.  I hope to instill confidence and a desire to use Spanish outside of school, as well.  I believe that ALL students can learn a language!