I am currently an intern supervisor for the Graduate Degree Program for Teaching ESL at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I recently retired as a full-time ESL teacher at Homewood High School  In addition to teaching, I was a regular presenter for local and district professional development activities as well as for professional organizations. I was also an Instructional Advisor for my school where I worked with new teachers helping them to adjust to their new jobs and improve as professionals.

I have a B.A. in French from the University of Montevallo. I began my teaching career in Atlanta, Georgia. My experiences with immigrant students awakened a desire to work with ELLs (English Language Learners). I began teaching French at Homewood High School in 1990. Within a few years, ELLs began enrolling in Homewood, and I developed the first ELL classes for the high school. In 2002 I was selected to participate in Project TEACH, where I received a master's degree in collaborative education with a focus on literacy and ESL certification. I was also the Shades Valley Rotary Club Teacher of the Year for Homewood High School in 2002 and the Homewood High School Teacher of the Year in 2003.

My goals in teaching are to help my students acquire strategies for success in learning English and mastering content and to help other teachers become confident in using best teaching practices to help ELLs (and all students) succeed.