In 1991, I decided to leave my current job as a tour director for an adventure tour company and pursue a Master’s in Education. I have always loved children, and it seemed like a career that would enable a good work/family balance for the future. Now, after 30 years in public education, I have no regrets!  

I began my career in Baltimore City in 1993 teaching 5th grade. After 7 years in the city, I moved to Howard County and taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, and then became a Gifted/Talented Resource teacher. My love of math was a perfect fit for that position, and I embraced the curriculum in place at that time that developed critical thinking skills using a variety of engaging problem-solving activities, games, and contests. It was so rewarding to see the students learn to persevere while solving problems outside of their comfort level.  Although I didn't recognize it then, they were practicing computational thinking skills and developing important habits of mind that are necessary in today’s technological world!

 In the fall of 2013,  I became interested in teaching CS when two parents in my school asked me to organize an after-school CS class with their assistance for girls in grades 3-5. Between them, they had 5 daughters who did not understand what CS was, despite both families having parents working in the tech industry. I also had a son studying CS at UMD at that time, and he noted that his classes lacked both gender and race diversity.  After hearing this from two perspectives, I was very motivated to step into action and do what I could to promote technology and CS education to young learners in our area. Our after-school club, HowGirlsCode (How for Howard County), was a lot of fun for the girls, and we reached out to other schools to share our plans and curriculum, which was based on unplugged activities, Lego robotics, and Scratch 1.0. Together we started a 501(c)(3) to promote CS education for girls, and organized a summer camp, Mind Body Coding, at UMBC for five consecutive summers. This camp was open to girls entering grades 4-8 across central Maryland, and focused on coding using Scratch and Tynker, WeDo and EV3 Lego robotics, as well as self-reflection and awareness through yoga and journaling.  It was a huge success, and we were able to offer partial or full scholarships to any of our participants in need. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, interest and attendance waned and we no longer actively offer classes. However, as an Instructional Technology Teacher in Howard County, I was still able to share my passion for CS with my students and colleagues.

Throughout my career I have embraced a variety of learning opportunities. I have always loved running the school science fair, attending and delivering professional development sessions, and pushing myself to improve my pedagogy and knowledge of the evolving world. I attended one of the first Maryland Technology Academies in 1999, earned and maintained my National Board Certification since 2002, and received a Master’s Certificate in Gifted/Talented Education from Hopkins in 2009. With a strong background in math, I found coding a challenge I enjoyed and embraced. I sought out opportunities to expand both my own knowledge as well as my CS pedagogy with PD programs such as code.org, Lego Robotics seminars, Scratch, Pathfinders Institute, and other online webinars for various elementary-level coding platforms and activities. I was particularly excited to discover and explore micro:bits, which I loved and readily shared with both my students and colleagues in HCPSS. Most recently, I have found that attending various PD sessions for physical computing, particularly Hummingbird Bits, was invigorating, and made me want to continue in the field beyond retirement.

After retiring last summer, I am now working as a part-time facilitator for MCCE. Currently, my main task is helping to plan for the upcoming elementary ambassador group, Cohort 6, to help teachers in K-5 develop foundational skills and expertise in teaching CS lessons to their students. It is such an honor to work with this amazing group of professionals, and I look forward to meeting other teachers from around the state who share my passion for education and CS.