I consider myself a facilitator and guide. It is exciting to see these young people use just a few minutes of direct instruction and take off on their own! I only probe; they decide, they problem-solve; place the “thinking” in their laps. I provide choices to work within their learning styles, but I stretch them to develop other learning styles too. Creativity is a strength of mine. I constantly research new and exciting projects for my gifted learners. I love it when my parents tell me their child looks forward to G.E.M.S. and is a topic of discussion at the dinner table.

 

Compassion for our environment and animals is another strength, my passion. These children are our future; they need to help their community and discover there are others less fortunate than us. Because of this, Canine Commandos formed 17 years ago. We (30 schools) visit all three of our local animal shelters and obedience train dogs to correct behaviors improving these animals' chances of finding furever homes. We have received grants and donations totaling $68,000; just awarded $10,000 from Petco. The Commandos were featured in Brighthouse 13’s Everyday Heroes (twice), Youth America, Disney Adventure All-Stars magazine, A Kids’ Guide to Protecting & Caring for Animals, Change the World with Service Learning, What to Expect When Adopting a Dog, The Complete Guide to Service Learning and several magazines. We won North Shore Animal League’s PSA Video Contest. Other awards: Good Morning America’s Get Away with GMA contest "cruising" the inaugural Oasis of the Seas, Orange Appeal Magazine’s Teacher Makeover,  LifeStyle Home's Teacher of the Year with a classroom makeover, Office Depot's Teachers Change Lives, Eckerd's Heroes, Humane Society of US National Humane Teacher of the Year, Pet Age Icon Award, and Association of Prosocial Learning Teacher of the Year. Visit www.CanineCommandos.org