Biography
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Top Row: Tom, Sam, Barbara, Eve, Pam, Jon Bottom Row: Rebecca, Jordan, Marj, Don, Abe |
I will bring strong academic qualifications to the board. I earned my K-8 teaching credentials at UW-Madison. I have a BA from Hunter College in New York City, majoring in history, with a joint minor in political science and high school education. I also have an MA in 18th century British history from Boston University, with research at Harvard’s Widener Library and further studies at UCLA. My teaching career has taken me from an inner city New York high school, to elementary schools in England and China, and finally to a middle school in Madison.
For over twenty-five years I have had the honor of teaching in Madison Schools. I first taught as a substitute at Leopold Elementary and then began teaching full-time at Marquette Elementary. I taught at the Franklin/Randall and Midvale/Lincoln pairs, then ten years at Lincoln Elementary School, and ten more at Cherokee Middle School.
I received the Madison Metropolitan School District Distinguished Service Award, the University of Wisconsin Distinguished Teacher of Teachers, and the NBC 15 Crystal Apple Award. I published a book, First Steps With Basic, A Gentle Introduction to Programming, and have just finished a second, My Side: Reflections of a Public School Teacher.
Since retiring, I have become an active advocate for Madison schools. I have been mentoring first year teachers, and served as treasurer of CAST (Community and Schools Together), an organization that endorsed the recent successful school referendum.
My husband of 43 years, a mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin, and I have two married children and five grandchildren. Our children attended Leopold, Cherokee and West High School, and obtained a marvelous education where they learned from a rigorous curriculum and from the life experiences of their diverse classmates. I therefore understand our schools both as a parent and as an educator. My goal is to guarantee that today’s students and tomorrow’s students will have this same, and even better opportunity.
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| Rebecca, Jordan, Abe, Marj, Eve and Sam |
From my earliest teaching years, I have been in schools with diverse populations. I have never wavered from my core belief: all of our students have needs that must be met, including students at both ends of the spectrum, as well as those in the middle.
I am proud to have been part of a school system that has managed to decrease the achievement gap while still increasing our top SAT/ACT scores. However, we are coming to a crossroads. Madison schools will again have to cut millions of dollars worth of programs, if not this year, certainly the year after.
As a taxpayer, parent, and retired teacher, I have to help. For this reason, I have decided to run again for a seat on the Madison school board in the spring 2008 election. The school board must have members who understand how classrooms function and who know which programs are crucial for learning to occur. I will bring to the board a unique level of passion and my extensive expertise in education.
