Awards and Experience:

Awards: In 1970, I placed first in the San Antonio Philharmonic Society’s annual competition. In 1987, I auditioned before the piano faculty and received a scholarship to the University of Houston School of Music. Outside of music, I placed in the top ten in the nation in an Atlantic Monthly short story contest for college students in 1968 and won the St. Mary’s University short story contest that same year. I also won two citywide high school essay contests in San Antonio, Texas, was editor of the Incarnate Word High School newspaper, and assistant editor of the year book. In graduate school, I was asked to read my paper on James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man at the University of Houston’s Aegis Conference.

Experience: I’ve been a private piano teacher for over thirty years but have also taught in many other areas. For twenty-four years, I was a classroom teacher in the Houston Independent School District. For six of those, I served as school music ancillary/enrichment teacher, grades K-6. Otherwise, I taught first through fourth regular and split grade classrooms as an ESL/language arts teacher or self-contained teacher of all subjects. Prior to that, I gave individual piano lessons at St. Anthony Catholic School in San Antonio, Texas. I also acted as a substitute music and language teacher in the Klein Forest Independent School District for two years.

During my employment in Houston ISD, I also served in these capacities:

• Limited English proficiency (LEP) coordinator, Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) chairperson and representative
• Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) chairperson (review and address individual student learning difficulties)
• Gifted and Talented  (GT) coordinator
• 504 coordinator
• Dyslexia teacher and contact person
• Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee member (special education referral)
• Grade Placement Committee (GPC) member (promotion/retention)
• Shared Decision-Making Committee (SDMC) member
• Teach for America mentor

Education and Degrees:

St. Mary’s University-San Antonio, Texas

Major: Secondary music education, piano as major instrument

Minor: English literature

University of Houston-Houston, Texas

Bachelor of Arts, 1987, Dean’s List

• Major: Music
• Minor: English literature

Master of Arts, 1991

• English literature

Additional: 

Ten hours towards a master’s degree in piano pedagogy and performance

I am fortunate to have studied piano with master teachers Emmett Vokes and Nancy Weems.  I would also like to add that Michael Horvit’s 20^th century composition and Donald Barthelme’s creative writing classes made huge impressions on me.

Certifications:

Texas Education Agency:

• English as a second language (Grades PK-12), 6/7/1990, Life
• Elementary self-contained (Grades 01-08), 4/24/1998, Life

Texas Region 4 Education Service Center:

• Dyslexia (Orton-Gillingham)

Additional Training:

Many, many hours of teacher development training in second language acquisition, gifted and talented methodology, phonics, literacy, general instruction, and music