Tell us why you became a teacher

My two adopted children had learning disabilities. The more I learned about them, the more interested in educational needs.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

When I worked at a private school, almost all our students had dyslexia. I worked a lot of one on one with students encouraging them to work. One day one told me that he had just worked all he could and that he was sorry. He was concerned that he was disappointing me by not continuing with his reading due to having a headache. He was almost in tears. I was so impressed that he wanted to please me and had tried his best. Before then I had no idea that dyslexics got headaches from reading.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I keep a coffee/hot chocolate bar in my classroom. I would continue with that and the snacks and treats the students are used to enjoying in my room.