I have always been passionate about working with today's youth and received my Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies to further my progress towards becoming an educator. I have been working in the field of education for several years, as a student teacher at Casa Grande High School and the Mary Wattis school, as well as an Education Specialist at Rancho Cotate High School, Boulder High School and Centennial Middle School. I have designed and implemented differentiated curriculum and instruction for students with disabilities within the general education setting. I have managed a caseload of 28 students ranging in age from 11-18, supporting both their academic and transitional learning needs. I have worked in a Behavior and Emotional Specialized Teaching Environment, working with students classified under Emotional Disturbance, developing curriculum and supports that were focused on standards based learning with social emotional teaching components embedded. I acted as department chair for 5 years, managing the needs of a 12-person department, including scheduling implementation and design, professional development training, and new teacher induction. I recently completed my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on developing enriching professional development programs that are content, site, and district specific, with an emphasis on supporting teachers working with specialized populations including students with different learning needs, culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and students in at-risk populations.