I have a twin sister with a chromosomal syndrome with delays. I grew up watching my parents & teachers do everything they could to help her learn & grow. She wasn’t a fan when I wanted her to play “school” when we were little. I even asked my teacher in 3rd grade if I could have some of her chalk & an old teaching manual to use when I was “teaching” her. She is a big reason why I became a teacher. I truly believe EVERYONE deserves a teacher who sees their strengths & cheers their successes.

This one caused the entire school to prop doors open to air out. I was nervous the first time we raised chicks from incubated eggs. I had to learn right alongside my K-5 students. Students collected data after each egg was candled to track growth. Everything was rolling along nicely until the incubator broke. Oh the smelly memories! Once fixed & the surviving eggs hatched, students performed ethograms to track chick development & monitored bedding/food/water. An eggsperience we’ll never forget!

My husband and I have both been teachers for the past 20 years and have always had to be careful with budgeting. Winning 25K would allow us to put a down payment on a new vehicle since one of ours is from 2003! I’d give back to my dog rescue/boarder. They do amazing work and we are grateful for how they’ve helped us. I’d also love to fill my school’s book vending machines with new books (kids earn tokens to get a free book!). This is all SO exciting!!