Oh hi, blog world.

I'm not going to lie, as I write this I'm a bit jittery... mostly from the excitement of beginning this blog and being a month away from my first year of teaching, and partly from the coffee I got at Einstein's this morning. I was hired as a third grade teacher in a Title 1 school here in Texas for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year AND I AM SO EXCITED!

Naturally, my summer has been filled with DIY projects, reading and planning (between my nannying job and watching The Real Housewives, obviously). This blog will be a place for me to share my ideas, questions and experiences as I enter this year as a first year teacher.

I am incredibly passionate about closing the achievement gap for our kids because all children deserve a stellar education. To do this, I think we need to understand that part of the challenge lies in closing the teaching gap- in other words, the best teachers should not be only teaching the more fortunate students. Unfortunately, many incredible teachers don't necessarily want to work in lower SES areas for a number of reasons. I am hopeful that by blogging and sharing innovative, research-based ideas and information we can improve the quality of education we are providing for our students, regardless of what "type" of school we work in. Plus, being reflective of our teaching practices through blogging is really powerful as we can reassess what is and what isn't working while gaining insight from other teachers and their experiences. 

Look forward to my first post about a few projects I've been working on to give my classroom a warm and inviting vibe- think coffee shop meets classroom! AKA my two favorite places.