I'm proud to have been named a 2019 CMA Foundation National Music Teacher of Excellence! Thank you to the CMA Foundation for going out of your way to recognize educators across the nation for the work we do. 

                          This is the top secret box they gave me with a flash drive inside containing all the top secret plans :)

When I was in college, a department chair told me, "You don't look like a music teacher, and you sure don't act like one... but you continue to succeed in this program." 

At the time, this felt like an insult. Looking back on that exchange, I now wear it as a badge of honor. I DON'T look like a music teacher. I DON'T carry myself like one. My classroom is how I wish it would have been when I was a child - loud, exciting, unpredictable, inclusive, and above all... fun.

As Frost says, "that has made all the difference."