I am SO excited to be your 1st grade teacher! It’s going to be a fun year full learning and new adventures, and I can’t wait to see what the year has in store for us! I want to know ALL about you, but first, here’s a few things about me!

     I was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas. I have one older sister! I am married to my wonderful husband, Josh and we have two beautiful daughters, Kyleigh and Cheyanne. (You’ll get to hear lots of stories about all of them)! We also have a dog. He is a german shepherd named Bear. We have a couple of cats: Biscuit, Rascal, and Callie. In my spare time, I love to spend time with my family, go fishing, and work on projects around my house and in my garden. I also love working on my embroidery and watercolor. 

     I went to college at the University of Houston, and couldn’t wait to become a teacher! After I graduated with my Bachelors degree in Teaching and Learning, I began my teaching career as a Special Education Paraprofessional. Later, I earned my English as a Second Language (ESL) & Gifted and Talented credentials. This will be my tenth year as an educator and I am very excited to begin this new school year with our school staff, your child, and with you! Malala Elementary has educators and leaders who will work together to equip students with the tools they need to feel empowered in their learning.🖤 🐆 🧡

     First grade is full of many great and engaging activities that will help your students achieve at their greatest potential. Throughout the year we will be broadening our knowledge in many various areas such as reading, language arts, math, writing, science, and social studies. As we continue throughout each unit we will be participating in various large group, small group, partner and individual work that best suits the task at hand. It is my hope that I am able to not only increase your student's knowledge in the classroom, but also their knowledge about the world and how to be successful, caring global citizens. We are going to have so much fun! 

     Throughout the year, we will be using Schoology to communicate important classroom information with you, the parents. Schoology is a learning management system for K-12 schools that allows us to create, manage, and share content and resources that we are doing in our class at Malala. 

If you have any questions throughout the school year, the best way to reach me is through e-mail: heather.durham@fortbendisd.com

I am looking forward to working with you and your student to make this the best school year yet! 

LEAP! 🐾