I am so proud to be a part of the family at Highlands Elementary.  This will be my twenty-first year on the Fifth Grade Team at Highlands and my thirtieth year of teaching.

During my teaching career, I have taught fourth and fifth grade. I taught at Sugar Mill Elementary for four years and then, in 1996, my family and I moved overseas to Singapore. I taught fifth grade for three years at the Singapore American School. Upon our return, I taught fourth grade at Sugar Mill Elementary for a year and then moved to fifth for three years. I have taught fifth-grade math and science since becoming a Scottie in 2004.  I am proud to have served as Highlands Elementary Teacher of the Year for the 2009-2010 school year.  I currently serve as the fifth-grade team leader, and the Champion of Gifted Services.  It is going to be an exciting year!

   I am blessed to have been married to my wonderful husband for 43 years!  We enjoy traveling the world and being with our family. 

Our daughter Melanie and her husband Anthony live in Bangkok, Thailand. Melanie teaches second grade at an American school and Anthony coaches.  In June 2021, we were blessed to welcome Logan Anthony Ortiz to our family. This summer, on July 5th, Luke Alexander Ortiz made his debut!

When two Aggies fell in love, we added a daughter-in-love to our family!   My son Tyler and his wife Sara live in Katy, Texas.  Sara teaches Agriculture at Taylor High School in Katy, where she is currently Secondary Teacher of the Year for Katy ISD. Tyler works in sales for a distribution company. In September 2020, we welcomed Riley Grace Burke to our family!

These are my two fur babies, Sofie and Ella.  They are a little spoiled! 

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know a little more about my life at Highlands Elementary and my family.  I am looking forward to a great year!