I started teaching in 1995 at a school in California City, California. Other jobs I've had include decorating ice cream cakes, managing a Toys R Us store, waitressing, and working as an insurance adjustor.
I also worked at The Disney Store for 11 years! If
you ever shopped at The Disney Store at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas,
we may have met. I spent most of my time in the "gallery" with
the art and collectible pieces. Sadly, the Forum Shop Disney Store
closed in January 2005 and brought my cast member days to an end.
In the fall of 2007 I wandered into another Disney
Store in Las Vegas and bumped into some old friends. With a little
convincing, I agreed to come back to do special projects like inventory
or stage sets (setting up new displays of merchandise). All of my
projects were behind the scenes or when the store was closed so it
worked out well with my school schedule. I did that for two years,
making my total Disney experience 13 years of fun!
Since the Fall of 2010, I have been teaching classes
at Nevada State College. So far I have taught Teaching Literacy 1,
Elementary School Science, and Elementary School Social Studies.
Some classes I teach are face-to-face, evening classes. Others are
completely online. It's been a lot of fun working at the college
level with people who are excited about getting into the field of
education.
I have taught first grade (ten years), second
grade (one year), third grade (two years), and fourth grade (one
year). During the 2006-2007 school year I was an Intervention
Specialist and taught a grant-funded program called ACE (Academic
Concept Enrichment) for students who needed a little extra help
to build their academic skills.
The 2009-2010 school year marked the start of a new adventure
for me: being the GATE specialist at my school. GATE refers to "Gifted
and Talented Education", a pull-out program for third,
fourth, and fifth grade students. I love being a GATE teacher!
You can visit my Curriculum
page for more information about GATE.
When I was growing up, my family (mom, dad, sister,
brother, dog and cats) lived in Woodland Hills, CA. That's in
the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles. I moved to Las Vegas
in 1996 and over the past few years, most of my family has moved
here as well. Hi Mom, Dad, Kelly, David, Andy, Lisa, Tyler, Abby,
Chris, Becky, Big Tyler, Cooper, Jamie, Carter, and Bennett!
I attended the University of Southern California
(freshman year) and then transferred to Cal State Northridge
where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Child Development
(1989). I earned my teaching credential at Cal State Bakersfield
(1995) and my Master of Education degree from Lesley University
(1999).
In the spring of 2005 I started working with the computer specialist at our school, Yvonne Lambert, trying to come up with an idea for a school website.
Neither of us had built a website before so we experimented
with a program called Dreamweaver. http://beatty.ccsd.net (the
Beatty Elementary School website) , Ttools.ccsd.net (a
website for teachers), and MyFunTeacher.com (my
class website) are the results of many hours of hard work! Since
then I have taken a Dreamweaver class at UNLV.
I've been to some great vacation spots! Let's see,
I've been on four cruises to the Mexican Riviera (Puerto Vallarta,
Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Acapulco, Ixtapa, Manzanillo, and Ensenada).
I also went on a cruise around the Hawaiian islands. What a great
way to see four islands in a week!
The furthest I've been from home was when I vacationed in England and Scotland. The coast of Aberdeen is beautiful and the countryside is incredible!
Closer to home, my favorite vacation spots include
Lake Tahoe (camping with my family) and Disneyland. I like to go
to Disneyland at least once a year. Being on a year-round school
calendar made it a lot easier to enjoy the "off-season".
Now we are back to a traditional nine month schedule so my vacations
will be during the summer with everyone else.
I am proud to say I am a National Board Certified Teacher. It took three long years to complete the process and demonstrate my accomplishments but it was worth it! As a National Board Certified Teacher I think I am more reflective and thoughtful in my teaching style. I am constantly working to improve my teaching techniques to help my students grow and develop to their fullest potential.
I beat cancer! During the fall of 2005 I wasn't feeling well. My symptoms were a terrible cough, fatigue, and loss of appetite. I thought it was nothing.....wrong! By Christmas I was short of breath and miserable. I went to the doctor for a chest x-ray and was immediately admitted to the hospital for a week. It turns out I had lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a form of cancer in the lymph nodes. My lymphoma was in my chest, sitting in my lungs, making it hard for me to breathe. After my hospital stay, I started treatments. Because of the size and location of my lymphoma, I went for three weeks of radiation treatments, every day. It didn't seem possible, but my coughing finally subsided (after four months of hacking) and I was able to begin chemotherapy.
From February to July, 2006, I had eight rounds of chemo and the side effects that go with it. Then I went for thirty-five more radiation treatments. The bright side: it worked! The lymphoma is resolved. My hair has returned, a little bit darker and a lot thicker.
Latest update (Summer 2011): July 6th, 2011 was the
5 year anniversary of my last round of chemotherapy. The lymphoma
is still gone and I am doing well!
I don't have any children of my own. I stay busy
with my cat, Cody (he's
almost 18), and the kids at school. I also have a bunch of nieces
and nephews that are lots of fun to spend time with! Hi Jamie,
Cooper, Little Tyler, Becky, Big Tyler, Abby, Chris, Carter,
and Bennett!
This web site is my hobby. I also like to go to
the movies or relax around the house. Sometimes, when it's not too hot (in Vegas?), I work in my flower garden. It has lots of different kinds of flowers: snapdragons, petunias, marigolds, stocks, sweet peas, tulips....
If I could pick a place to go for a weekend getaway, it would
definitely be Disneyland! I would stay at the Grand Californian
Hotel (inside Disney's California Adventure) and have fun "park
hopping" for
a few days. Pirates of the Caribbean.... Space Mountain... Soarin'
Over California... Peter Pan... it's impossible to pick my favorite!
It is quite a compliment that you would like to use the ideas that are on my site! Please make sure you give credit where credit's due. If you have a website or class web page, please offer a link back to my page. If you send me an email I can visit your site.
How long have you been a teacher?
back to top
What grades have you taught?
Where did you grow up?
Where did you go to college?
How did you learn to do website designs?
What's your favorite place to go on vacation?
What are you most proud of as a teacher?
What are you happiest about?
Do you have any children?
What do you like to do for fun?
Can I use your ideas in my classroom? 
