Class Year

13

Current Hometown:

Gaithersburg, MD (just outside of DC)

Job and Employer

District of Columbia Public Schools

Work:

As a public school teacher in the District of Columbia I am reminded daily of the inequity of opportunity that young adults of our country experience every day. It is with great respect and honor that I do this work – to provide a safe and exciting place for my students to grow and develop.  Currently, I serve as the department chair for the social studies department at Cardozo Education Campus (6-12). In this role I plan and implement weekly professional development workshops centered on the instructional shifts outlined in the C3 framework and the Common Core Curriculum Standards (CCCS).  Further, for the past two years I have written curriculum extensively for DCPS. Two units, “Self-Evident Truths: The Declaration of Independence & Its Philosophy” & “The Triumphant Failure: John Brown & the Nature of Protest”, have been published as “cornerstones” for DCPS (meaning every 8th grade teacher teaches these units throughout the year). I also serve as the 8th grade department chair for all of DCPS. In spring 2016, I was named 2017 James Madison Constitutional Education Fellow. I also coach 8th grade soccer (go Clerks!).

Community work & family

My wife and I have a 2 year old daughter named Maggie…she enjoys running, painting, drawing, jumping, and being silly…

Graduation Year

Johns Hopkins University

Degree

Master of Educational Studies

Senior project:

Laboring Upon Their Own Hook: Abraham Lincoln & His Rhetorical Use of Labor and Capital

Internship:

Student teaching at Ellsworth High School (go Eagles!)

Human ecology in action:

The issues and problems associated with education in our country today are not singular. They are the result of a highly complex and interconnected web of big business, systemic poverty, and ingrained racism (notice I didn’t say teachers!). In order to improve the way we educate the youth of this country, the response to these issues will have to be equally complex and interconnected. My background in Human Ecology has helped me to see the issues facing education through this lens, and to reject the idea that there is any silver bullet solution to fixing a problem that is so interdependent. 

A COA experience that was particularly significant or memorable:

My COA experience can be defined by two memorable courses:

 

Lincoln Before the Presidency (anyone interested activism or the nature of change should really take this course…trust me) taught by Jamie McKown, and Secondary Methods taught by Bonnie Tai. Both of these courses pushed me outside of my comfort zone and ultimately helped me grow as student and as a professional.

 

Finally I did want to mention my student teaching experience which was set up by the Educational Studies Director, Linda Fuller. She did an amazing job pairing me with the perfect sponsoring teacher, Shawn McPhee.

Considerations for prospective students:

COA is an amazing place for many reasons. For me, it was a place where I was given the freedom to push myself as hard as I could academically. As a COA applicant you should know that the absolute best will be expected of you – and that you should embrace that. Be uncompromising with yourself…it is what I strive to teach my students each day.