About Me

About Me

I love working with teenagers and watching them grow in their thinking and understanding of themselves, others, and the world around them. I have been teaching English—both professionally and within the homeschool community—for over 30 years. I set high standards for myself and my students, but I also consider myself an approachable and compassionate teacher.

Somewhere around 2010, I began administering the Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Test to homeschooled students in the community to help provide quality feedback to homeschool parents and to meet the annual NC testing requirement. I administer the test in my home and sit down with parents afterward to offer any insights I can on the scores and their student’s approach to the test. To me, it’s less about the test and more about growth and progress from year to year.

Teaching Experience

Over the years, I’ve taught a range of middle school, high school, and college courses. I began teaching as an undergraduate and continued through graduate school as a teaching assistant, teaching Freshman Composition at Clemson. Before we had children, I taught high school English in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System. Here are some of the classes I’ve taught through the years, both professionally and in the homeschool community:

AP Language & Composition
AP Literature & Composition
High School British, American, and World Literature
Speech & Debate
Senior English
Freshman Composition
Essentials—Classical Conversations

Formal Education

M.A. in English, Clemson University, 1993
B.A. in English, minor in Secondary Education, James Madison University, 1991

A Bit More Personally

I’m originally from Buffalo, New York, but have lived in Asheville for 24 years. I homeschooled all three of our children, who are now ages 26, 24, and 21 (they really do grow up!). Outside the classroom, I enjoy flower and vegetable gardening, travel, local history, and genealogy. Over the last year, I've survived our eldest daughter's wedding and a whole home remodel. It's been a busy few years actually. But, teaching has been one of the great privileges of my life, and I look forward to getting back to it. 

Here’s a picture of our family from our daughter Grace’s September 2025 wedding.