Model Teachers:
High School Math

Content: High School Math
School: Denbigh High
Years Taught: 22

What do you most love about teaching?
One thing that I love most about teaching is having the opportunity to share my passion for mathematics with my students. I enjoy showing my students how the skills, formulas, and critical thinking they are learning in my class will apply to their lives outside of class. I am also grateful that I have a chance to teach my students something new each day, and that I will be able to watch them develop and gain deeper understanding throughout the course of the year.

What makes NNPS a great school division?
Newport News Public Schools is a great school division to work for because we consistently provide teachers with top-notch professional development opportunities and resources. Here, we have people in place and other options that we can access when we need support in a particular area. We are also provided with opportunities to plan and collaborate as a team and time to discuss how we can all obtain optimal learning outcomes. While we are able to seek assistance, support, and training from our colleagues and school leadership when we need it, NNPS teachers are given the autonomy to make many independent decisions pertaining to the management of instruction in their classrooms.

Why are you passionate about supporting fellow teachers?
I have a passion for supporting fellow teachers because I believe that we all benefit from working together collaboratively. Each teacher, no matter how long they have been teaching or no matter what content they may teach, possesses unique "tools" in their "toolbox" that they may share with others. It has been my experience that whenever I have shared with and supported another teacher, I have always benefitted professionally from the experience, gaining additional resources for my own "toolbox" from the experiences and lessons I have learned from my colleague.