My Teaching Philosophy

This past 2023-2024 school year, I completed my first year of teaching in Chicago Public Schools. Throughout my experience, I always aimed to follow a sociocultural framework of pedagogy. I pursue this through student-centered learning practices, engaging activities that draw on students’ lives and cultural backgrounds and knowledge, and opportunities for inquiry-driven projects and reading.

In particular, I value building strong and supportive relationships with my students by establishing rapport and empathetic, restorative practices. This sense of community in my classroom culture encourages a mutual love for learning. Furthermore, as a passionate reader and writer myself, I always look forward to instilling a spark of joy for the English Language Arts in my students.

In my lesson planning, I strive to integrate the theories of Universal Design for Learning, by incorporating multimodal means of engagement and representation, various forms of scaffolding to support diverse forms of expression, and many opportunities for individual support.

Personal Life

I grew up outside of Seattle, Washington, where I love the mountains, evergreens, and coffee. My family originates from the Midwest, and I moved to Illinois to get my Master of Education and rejoin family. Now, I live in Chicago, and I love the city and all it has to offer - from live music to parks to eclectic thrift shops.

Outside of teaching, I enjoy writing poetry and creative prose. I have published some of my work. Furthermore, I love playing games with my friends, writing music and playing guitar, and reading fiction and poetry. I also enjoy the company of my bunny, Merlin (pictured above).