Where are you from?

Growing up, my Dad was Air Force so we moved around a lot -- however, my Mom’s family is from Washington state and I consider the Pacific Northwest to be home. 

High school and college experience:  

Tahoma High School (Maple Valley, WA) 2010, Favorite Subject: History and Journalism

The Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) 2014, BA in Public Policy and Social Justice

Concordia University (Portland, OR) 2017, M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction - Ethics, Equity, & Justice

University of Washington - 2018, College of Teaching - Certificate in Elementary Education (K-8)

Years of teaching experience:

After graduating from Evergreen in 2014, I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to serve with the City Year Organization (an AmeriCorps program). My time there I worked with three 5th grade classes providing tutoring, classroom behavior support, and after-school services. I decided I liked working in education, so the following year I served another AmeriCorps term at one of only three alternative high schools in New Orleans, and the next year as a para-educator in a special education class at a different high school. 

Once I decided I wanted to lead my own classroom, I joined the Teach For America fellowship program, moved back to Washington  and taught in the Yakima Valley for two years. When my commitment there was over, my wife (Ms. Richardson, middle school science teacher) and I came to North Beach! 

While I love social studies content, I teach because I believe that every child deserves a quality education. Teaching is more than just content for me -- I’ve built my career working to change systemic inequities within education and providing the best possible instruction for our kiddos!

Areas of knowledge:

Social Studies (Specifically American History), Elementary Education, Ethics, Music History, Creative Writing, Social Justice, Public Policy

Interests

Snowboarding/Skiing, Fly Fishing, Hiking, Camping, Clamming, Working on my truck, Home repair, Kayaking, My Dogs, Flea Market and Thrift Shop finds!

Words of Wisdom

“We can’t spend our lives waiting to live” - Rise Against

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - Gandalf

Favorite Quote

“Again, the most effective (and least destructive) way to help a child succeed—whether she’s writing or skiing, playing a trumpet or a computer game—is to do everything possible to help her fall in love with what she’s doing, to pay less attention to how successful she was (or is likely to be) and show more interest in the task. That’s just another way of saying that we need to encourage more, judge less, and love always.” - Alfie Kohn in Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason

How would you describe yourself and your hobbies and interests

As a new father (my firstborn, Forrest, arrived 8/22/2020!), my life seems to have a newfound meaning and perspective. My family is my greatest accomplishment! I consider myself easygoing and laid back while simultaneously ambitious and driven. As far as my interests and hobbies, my wife likes to tease me about my love of all things magical -- specifically Lord of the Rings. I am also an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoy fly fishing, multi-night backpacking trips, skiing/snowboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking, among other things. When we’re not in a pandemic I love going to see live music of all kinds, but my favorite of all is string band concerts (I’m a huge fan of bluegrass and old time music!)