WELCOME!! 

Here I am in Canada in the summer of 2005 celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary.

Oh, how small I am there! Somebody must have shrunk the teacher!

For photos from my family's Alaska trip last summer (2008), see this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/sheetsvl

 Do you have a FACEBOOK?  I DO!  Facebook Me!

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WHO AM I? WHERE DID I GROW UP?  WHAT ARE MY INTERESTS?  WHAT DO I LIKE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL?  FIND OUT HERE...

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the Atlanta area where my parents and my brother and his wife still live.  All of my husband's family also lives in the Atlanta area, so we often visit there during the summer and during our winter holiday.   Three of of my sisters-in-law are teachers, too, and one of them teaches elementary school music.  My own sister lives with her family in the Birmingham area where she teaches high school choral music at Thompson High School.

When I was in middle school and high school, I played the flute in the band and was the drum major of my band for two years at Dunwoody High School; in fact, I was a member of the first graduating class of DHS in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody.  I was also in the chorus my senior year. When I went to college, I planned to be a music major, majoring in voice and flute, but after a year I changed my major to education. My reason for doing so was that I missed studying all of the other subject areas like literature, science, and social studies.

Believe it or not, I also played basketball while in high school! I'll admit it was not for my high school team but rather in our church league, but our team was the best in the league. We even practiced by scrimmaging our high school women's team! I was a guard in those days - not a tall one, but a quick one! Not any more, however!

Another "believe it or not" bit of trivia includes the fact that I was in the Modern Dance Club in college, a dance troupe that worked out all year, practiced each week, and presented a recital program each spring. Our recital during my senior year when we danced to jazz reflecting the sights and sounds of New York City was my most memorable one.

I met my husband when I was in the 9th grade, but didn't see him again until after I had graduated from college when he came to work in the town where I was teaching. I have been married for 29 years and have two children, a son and a daughter. My son is a sophomore Ramsey Scholar at the University of Georgia this year, and my daughter is a junior at Murphy High School in the IB program.  Both of them attended middle school at Phillips Prep.  I never taught my son, but I did have my daughter in my chorus when she was an 8th grader.

My family has two dogs (a miniature dachshund and a beagle) and two cats.  My dachshund, Bach, is very "high maintenance and spoiled", so my children say.  He even sleeps on my pillow or under the covers at my feet at night!  The beagle and cats all moved from Kentucky to Mobile with my family and me in the summer of 2002.  While in Kentucky,  we lived on a cattle farm, and my husband and I taught at a college there for 17 years.  We lived in the KY mountains those 17 years before moving to Mobile. I have lived in the southeast or midwest all of my life - in the piedmont, on the plains, in the foothills of the Appalachians, and now on the Gulf Coast. And we all love it here.

I love singing, reading, cooking, eating fine chocolate, listening to jazz music, sitting on the beach, smelling the crispness of fall, seeing the colors of the mountains in October, going out to eat, staying up late, and sleeping late. I enjoy ethnic foods of all kinds and am willing to try almost anything once. I anticipate, with joy and excitement, every season and every holiday, and I love being with my family and friends. I collect and read cookbooks as well as books for children - picture books and chapter books alike. I like to travel, and I collect unique Christmas ornaments to remind me of the places I've been. I love "practical art" such as pottery and unique handmade jewelry and admire those who can create those things with their hands, hearts, and minds.

I enjoy my PPS students and appreciate the opportunity to teach at Phillips Prep. Please send me an e-mail and tell me some facts about you!

See you in class. vls

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• Seventh/Eighth Grade Mixed and Girls Choruses, 2006-present
• Eighth Grade Drama, 2007-present
• Sixth Grade Language Arts & Reading, 2002-2007
• Phillips Preparatory School
• Mobile County Public School System; Mobile, AL
• August 2002 ‑ present (MCPSS tenure granted 8/9/05)

Associate Professor of Education, 1992-2002

Assistant Professor of Education, 1988-1992

Director of Student Teaching in Grades K-12; Professor of Reading & Language Arts Methods, Social Studies Methods, Elementary Curriculum & Instruction, Science Methods 

Director of Student Teaching

Sponsor for the Kentucky Education Association / National Education Association - Student Programs

• Union College, Barbourville, KY,  July 1988 - July 2002

Teacher Educator Evaluator for the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program

• KY State Department of Education & Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 1988 - 2002

Upward Bound

Curriculum and Schedule Coordinator, Summers 2000-2002

Literature Consultant, Summer 1999

High School English (Literature and Writing) Instructor, Summers 1986-1989,1991-1997

• 6-week Summer Residential Program for High School Students, grades 9-12 Union College, Barbourville, KY

Chairperson of the Union College Steering Committee for the Self-Study and

Reaccreditation Process by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

• Union College, Barbourville, KY, 1991-1994

Assistant Professor of Reading / Reading Specialist

Learning Lab Administrator/Coordinator

Assistant to the Director of Career Planning and Placement

• Department of Special Services
• Union College, Barbourville, KY, August 1985 ‑ 1988

Graduate Teaching Assistant (Student Teaching Supervision & Seminar, Language Arts Methods)

• Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education
• University of Illinois at Urbana‑Champaign, August 1982 ‑ May 1985

Teacher of Gifted Children, Dramatic Arts (Ages 5‑8)

• University Primary School of the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL         Summer, 1985

Teacher of Preschool Children (Ages 3‑5)

• Child Development Laboratory of the University of Illinois, Urbana     January ‑ May 1984 (volunteer teacher one day per week)               June ‑ August 1984 (paid teacher, met daily for 8 weeks)

Teacher of Primary Children (Second Grade)

• Jackson Road Elementary School
• Griffin‑Spalding County School System, Griffin, GA                                   August 1979 ‑ June 1982

Tutor of Reading, Writing, English, and Mathematics

• Grades 1‑6, High School and College, 1979 - 2006

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WHAT CERTIFICATION DO I HAVE?

Commonwealth of Kentucky Rank I Professional Certificate for Teaching in Elementary School, Primary through Grade 5, with Endorsement for Teaching Reading and Writing, all grades K-12 (Expiration Date: 6/30/06)