Our Staff

Apples, lumber, football, and horses…what do they have in common?  Probably not much unless your roots are in a small Eastern Washington community where your family grew apples for a living, the local lumber mill provided the majority of jobs for its citizens, the entire town rallied around Friday night football, and for a few days every August the town’s population tripled when folks from near and far came to watch a dozen powerful horses (with riders!) race down a steep hillside in pursuit of a rodeo jackpot at the infamous Omak Stampede.

I loved growing up in this small town in which everyone knew each other well and looked out for each others’ best interests.  There was a sense of community pride that encouraged people to “do good and be good”.  And while I didn’t realize it at the time, the culture of Omak clearly shaped and defined my career as an educator, particularly in developing and leading Aviation High School.

My older sister, Nita, provided great advice when I started elementary school:  “Take a big, shiny apple to your teacher.”  I quickly realized that the gift of an apple was a great way to form a relationship.  Apples became my connection to school, and to this day they remind me of the importance of developing one’s intellect, curiosity, compassion, and joy of learning.

As a child, I loved constructing things—snow forts, sand castles, or working with my dad to pour concrete or pound nails for a new structure on our land.  When I heard the noon whistle at our local lumber mill, I pictured myself someday building something beautiful, unique, and sturdy.  Little did I know that my dreams and limited experiences as a builder would lead to developing innovative educational programs for high school students.

My “building” career started after earning a BA in Business Education from Eastern Washington University.  I landed my first job facilitating such subjects as keyboarding, shorthand (yes…it was the Dark Ages!), accounting, and business law.   I soon went back to college to earn two Masters’ degrees, one in Marketing and the other in Educational Administration.  I taught marketing and advised DECA for 10 years in Richland, Washington, and absolutely loved being a teacher.  From the classroom, I moved into administration, earning my Principal’s credential from Central Washington University.  My first administrative job was at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley where I served as an Assistant Principal and Vocational Director.  I then moved on to my dream job at SeaTac Occupational Skills Center in the Highline School District where I served as Principal/Director for 16 wonderful years, culminating in an award as “Administrator of the Year” for Career & Technical Education (2003).  During my tenure at SeaTac OSC my next dream job was created: leading the development of a small, innovative high school that facilitates learning in the context of what interests and motivates students.  This school is called Aviation High School, and it is my absolute joy and honor to serve as its first principal!

I’m not really crazy about football, but I do enjoy rallying around something fun on a Friday night—or any other time, for that matter!  For me, fun means doing something with my 20-year-old daughter Chelsea, my guy Dale, dog Spencer, or family and friends.  I also enjoy an occasional game of golf with non-competitive friends (that means they aren’t very good at the game, either!), reading a great novel (love stories are best), cheering for the M’s, walking on Alki, and traveling.  The “football” in school is about creating a teaching and learning model that is so compelling and fun that NO student would want to miss out—not even for a day! 

I grew up loving to ride horses.  I dreamed of being crowned Queen of the Omak Stampede, but it didn’t happen.  Riding taught me the importance of communication, teamwork, agility, and perseverance.   I also learned that it was OK to dust my pants off and get back in the saddle after a nasty fall.  And that, too, is what I think education is about.  I believe in the power and exhilaration of learning and having many opportunities to show that “you got it”! 

So…apples, lumber, football, and horses…what do they have in common?  For me, they symbolize the characteristics of a great learning community—one such as Aviation High School!

 

I have been a science teacher for most of my 18-year career in education, working with students as young as three years old and as old as 75.  Committed to the ideas that all of our students deserve access to an excellent education and that STEM education is a compelling way to achieve that goal, I have written, delivered, and provided training for the use of inquiry-based curricula and assessments for building, district, state, and national initiatives, and has mentored and trained scores new and pre-service teachers.  I have been a teacher-researcher for two teams of Arctic researchers and am the author or co-author of over $100K in grants to improve STEM education; funded grants include after-school and weekend science programs for primary and middle students, science training for elementary science teachers, collaborative cutting-edge environmental research for intermediate students, capstone programs for 12th graders, etc.  I was awarded the distinction of Teacher Exemplar in 2001, National Board Certification in 2004, and Highline School District Teacher of the Year in 2008. 

Since 2005, I have worked at Aviation High School, helping create, implement, assess, and refine project-based and themed curricula that challenge students to apply their learning to outside the classroom.  In addition to his work in the classroom, I am also the coach for an award-winning and growing Science Olympiad program (which now includes almost 12% of the student body), chair of the leadership team, and a member of the district’s curriculum alignment committee.  I am now serving as Assistant Director of STEM Leadership for our school.

 

Born and raised in the culturally diverse city of Vancouver, British Columbia, I have always had a passion for the majestic mountains and powerful ocean. I lived on a sailboat for 8 years and sailed throughout the Bahamas, Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico, and Belize; I have hiked in the jungle of Guatemala and visited many cities and villages in Mexico. A particular highlight was traveling through the Panama Canal. Having lived in several different geographical regions of Canada and the United States, the west coast will always be considered home. My professional experience started in the marketing, advertising and the public relations industries. About four years ago I was introduced to corporate aviation and was immediately captivated by the mystic intensity and romance of flying. I have been involved with corporate aviation on both the West and East coasts of the US and with the historical endeavors of the Museum of Flight. After returning from Boston to Seattle, I was excited by the opportunity to apply my experience in the aviation industry to working with young adults to forge future careers in aviation & aerospace at the Aviation High School. Each and every day I am amazed at the creativity and tenacity with which the students and instructors harmonize, preparing the future leaders of aviation & aerospace. I am happily married with a new addition to the family, a Black Labrador named “Jewel”. Both my husband and I like to take our rambunctious two year old running in the parks and boating on Lake Washington. I have always cherished being around family and friends, particularly during the holidays.

 

Hi!  My name is Katie Carper.  I originally hail from Spokane and spent six years in Pullman during college and graduate school!  I received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2002 and a Master of Education in Counseling in 2004, both from Washington State University.  Husky fans, have no fear, I feel no ill will toward the University of Washington.  However, I do miss Cougar football Saturday.  After graduation, I was the counselor and district assessment coordinator at Inchelium School District on the Colville Indian Reservation during 2004-2005.  It was an exciting and educational experience, but I missed city life!  I moved to Seattle in 2005 and began my career at AHS.

In my five-year career as a school counselor, I have loved working at AHS, where I have had the opportunity to develop the guidance and counseling program, from individual guidance to advisory lessons to college prep sessions.  I see my job as an opportunity to use my resources to help ensure student success.  I have a unique position in that I am not a peer, parent, or teacher.  My mission is to provide students with the services necessary to assist them in receiving the maximum benefit from the opportunities at Aviation High School. It’s always a rewarding challenge.  It has been amazing to see our graduates go on to great post-secondary institutions!  I am so fortunate to be returning to AHS and so excited for the opportunity to work with Aviation students and parents again this year!

 

After graduation and having studied business/marketing and journalism at Washington State University, Nancy immediately put her focus and passion for writing to work in the field of advertising for McDonald’s Corporation.

After ‘cutting her teeth’ in the Advertising Manager position, she moved into the area of public relations, and spent 15 years as Director of Corporate Communications & Media Relations - 11 years with Horizon Air and four years with The Bon Marche.  In 2000, the tragic loss of her 4-year-old son, Dominick, led her to focus on life differently, and she left her position to spend time with her family.

Nancy joined Highline Public Schools as interim Public Information Officer and worked part-time as a playground monitor and para-educator at Marvista Elementary School. Then in October 2001, she accepted the permanent role of Director of Human Resources.  In September 2008, Nancy joined the AHS staff as Program Director to dedicate time to our Career Readiness/Mentoring and Internships effort.

She lives in Normandy Park with her husband, Rick, and her daughter Zoey who is now a junior at Mt. Rainier High School. 

 

Like Scout in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, I, too, began reading at a very young age but could not pinpoint how or exactly when. My love for reading is why I am an English teacher today. Playing school with my sister as a youngster contributed to my becoming a teacher, but the reading part led to my love of the written word.

Like reading, being a frequent flier began when I was very young when I would visit family across the country. I have always loved flying--partly because I enjoy traveling, and partly because I enjoy the experience of being in the clouds. The flying experience that sticks with me most happened in the mid-1970s when hijacking airplanes seemed to be the "in" thing. My three siblings and I were returning to Alaska where we lived with our mom after visiting our dad in Chicago. That day there was a hijacking and they accidentally announced the wrong flight number. My poor mom thought it was our plane! (Of course we were young and oblivious to the terror she was going through--we were enjoying reading and watching the movie on board the 747!) After that mix-up was cleared, another incident occurred. This time the runway lights at the airport in Anchorage went out and our plane had to land at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base and we were bused to the airport. No wonder our poor mom was as white as a ghost when we first saw her!

So whether I'm traveling, engrossed in a book, facilitating a discussion on a Shakespearean sonnet, or conducting a teacher training workshop, I love meeting new people, facing exciting challenges, and encountering new opportunities to learn.

As a teacher I believe I am always in the "student's chair"--always on the learning end. I have been teaching junior high, high school, and college for the past 24 years. About eight years ago I became a cyberspace educator--and I love it! I've taught both high school and college English courses. I've been involved in teacher training for years--especially training English teachers in teaching Shakespeare, a big passion of mine!

The two biggest "rewards" of my teaching career were the time I spent studying at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., in 1996 and then returning as a Mentor Teaching in 2000, and the All-USA Teacher Team Award I received in 1998. For the latter I received an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to receive the award and tour the newsroom of USA Today.

These were "big" rewards, but the "best" rewards are times I see that "ah-ha" moment light up a student's face; or when I see a student so engrossed in a novel that nothing can pull him/her away from it; or when a student comes back and says, "Gee, all that hard work in your class has made college so much easier!" These are the reasons I became a teacher. And these are the reasons I will always be a teacher.

When I'm not preparing lessons or grading essays, however, I love to travel, hike, garden, scrapbook, read, watch a good movie, and play with our cats--and all the ones in the neighborhood who have adopted me and my husband.

 

Born just soon enough to be a Baby Boomer, my childhood was spent in constant motion, following my father as he followed military orders.  Beginning in California, I had, by the end of high school, seen nearly every state and lived in six.  Combined with a backdrop of the Vietnam War and peripheral Cold War influences such as our exploration of space, the world held global proportions from an early age.

Wherever home was, it featured many books.  Combined with frequent travel, I came to an early love of history, literature, and geography.  Historical figures came alive in the context of the places they lived and worked, making the past part of my present.  I came to realize that uncommon achievements were rooted in common people managing (sometimes badly) the problems we all face.  Nonetheless, they could still invent, discover, and create remarkable things.  That is one of the messages I hope to convey to students as a teacher.  Today, I never miss a chance to walk where history happened. 

Aviation came to me as a preteen in Alaska, via several neighbors who were Army Aviators.  I noticed they seemed to leave for work periodically, and went to offices that were not only mobile, but often headed toward interesting places.  Their stories introduced me to the idea of flying—as opposed to working—for a living.  When I discovered the military paid these guys more, it was an easy sell.  While completing the lengthy application for Army flight school, I earned money for civilian flying lessons working at a peanut butter factory.  I got my Private Pilot’s license, and a strong sense that flying and “flight pay” were much preferred over work.  After graduating high school and being accepted to the Army’s Rotary Wing Flight School at Fort Rucker, Alabama, my goals were realized.  In March 1981, I graduated with the coveted wings of an Army Aviator. 

Initially assigned to Fort Hood, Texas flying UH-1 “Huey” helicopters, I volunteered for anything and anywhere that promised more flying.  Over the next quarter century, I moved up in rank, and into more complex helicopters and airplanes.  The points of my compass reveal destinations in South Korea, Europe, and Haiti, along with much of the United States.  When I retired in 2004, I was a CH-47D “Chinook” pilot, qualified in four other helicopters, and five airplanes with over 5000 flight hours.  It was a grand ride, and gave me the chance to meet wonderful people, with my wife first and foremost.

College was pursued over many years, sneaking courses into nights, weekends and through correspondence.  While completing a number of postgraduate military schools, I finally earned an AA degree enroute to BA in history from the University of Washington.  Retirement eligible, and long frustrated with the way history is taught, I decided a second career in teaching would be perfect.  Enrolled in the teacher certification program at Saint Martin’s College in Lacey, I completed student teaching in 2005, endorsed in History, Social Studies, and English, and joined the Aviation High School faculty later that year.  At AHS, I enjoy the opportunity to combine my love of history and learning with flying. 

Other than mention on a few Dean’s lists, my awards and achievements are largely from the military.  Most of these are unknown or understood in the civilian world, but I have been awarded both the Master Army Aviator badge and Good Conduct Medal, often thought to be mutually exclusive.

 

Like many people, I knew what I wanted to be “when I grew up” from about my Sophomore year of high school. My teachers were interesting people and I wanted to spend my life connecting with people about history, politics, literature, and big ideas. I began by studying Humanities at Walla Walla University before doing a year of service learning at a school in Wisconsin. From there on I found jobs such as a teacher’s assistant and writing center tutor to help me on my way. My husband and I moved to Seattle where I was both a full-time Human Resources specialist and a full-time student at the University of Washington.

I studied History and earned my Bachelor’s degree and teaching endorsements in History, Social Studies, Language Arts and English from the UW in 2001. After the birth of my first daughter, I went on to study Education and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Seattle Pacific University in 2003. While working on my Masters I did a lot of substitute teaching, carrying a full load at Mt. Rainier High School from October to the end of the year. That’s when I saw the call for Aviation High School.

I joined the AHS team in May 2004 and have been equally challenged and rewarded ever since. It has been a life changing experience to help develop a school from the very beginning. I taught Freshmen Humanities for the first five years of AHS, as well as a variety of seminars including: History of Aircraft Design, Aviation Art, Commercial Aviation, and Aviation Careers. I have learned as much as my students have in these aviation seminars! I am both proud of what we have achieved and committed to our growth as a learning community. My current teaching assignment is U.S. History, World Literature, Creative Writing and Current World Problems.

In addition, I am advisor to two very active clubs. Book Club meets during weekly club time and enjoys discussing not just books, but movies, comics, authors, writing styles, and all things literary. This club has a special love for Harry Potter! Culture Club meets after school on Thursdays and is a cool place to hang out together with your friends. Each week we play games, learn about different cultures, listen to music and generally enjoy just being together. Culture Club also sponsors big events such as the annual Talent Show! Our motto is: Culture – It’s who you are! Acceptance – It’s what you do!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read about AHS and for checking out the Sophomore Humanities program. My name is Mr. Ted Dezember and I am one of two humanities teachers for 10th graders here at Aviation. I also advise the Associated Student Body and teach the Leadership Studies class.

I am a transplant to the Puget Sound region being born and raised in Richland, WA on the East side of the state. For college I made my way to Pullman, WA to attend Washington State University where I graduated in 2006 with my degree in History Education.

I have been a teacher at AHS for three years now, my whole career, and I couldn’t ask for a better place to work. The staff is smart, creative and friendly and the students are here because they genuinely want to learn, it’s a teachers paradise! I hope that if you are still learning about our school you will take the time to come and visit and experience what I am talking about for yourself.

I deeply enjoy learning and teaching and I hope that I am able to pass this passion on to my students. I work hard every day to ensure that we are using our time meaningfully and purposefully in class to talk about important issues and that we are working everyday to improve as learners.

I look forward to meeting all students at AHS and sharing in our common interests. Personally, I enjoy all sports with Football being my favorite. I love being outside in the mountains that surround our beautiful city. I love to travel and see new places, and last year I was able to visit several cities in Europe with students from all over Washington State, a tradition I hope to continue.

Again, I want to thank you for taking the time to investigate AHS and to learn about all of the wonderful things that we can offer. I hope to see you on campus!

 

I was volunteering at Rainier Beach High School as an after-school tutor when it hit me “I wanted to be a public school teacher.” Most of the students who showed up were athletes, most were ineligible because of poor grades. Many of the students were poor and most felt disconnected from school. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to let each student know that it was not too late for them. Too often I hear students referred to in terms of scores and percentages. But after spending time at RBHS I realized that students are individuals; with different experiences and different needs. Some students require more resources, more attention, and more time. The students I tutored that year at RBHS, taught me as much as (I hope) I helped them.
Born and raised in Bothell, I attended a comprehensive public high school and graduated with a class of 500. Though I was an above average student, I had no direction; but since I was expected to continue my schooling, I took off for college (WSU) and meandered my way through several majors before dropping out. I realized later that I was much like many high school students today. Though I never felt disconnected from school, I had no focus.
Ten years later I found myself in the registration office at North Seattle Community College. A short time later I transferred to the University of Washington where I completed my undergraduate degree (in History and English) and graduate work in Teaching. After spending my first six years teaching US History and AP English at Tyee High School (in the Highline District) and one year at Vashon High School where I taught Freshman English and Yearbook, I now join the AHS staff with high expectations for both myself and for students. What I learned tutoring at RBHS is that students want to be successful, often times though they just don’t know how to accomplish this. I hope to create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable discovering success on their own terms.

 

My path to teaching has been indirect. I graduated from Caltech in 1991 with a B.S. in Astronomy. I decided to try “the real world” for a few years and accepted a position at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond WA. While at Microsoft, I worked as a program manager on the Windows NT development team.

After ten years I decided I’d learned enough about computers and quit Microsoft. I enrolled in the Physics Evening Masters program at the University of Washington in Seattle. While at the UW, I became interested in teaching, and found myself enrolling in the Masters in Teaching Program at Seattle Pacific University. In 2006 I received my MS in Physics, and in 2007 I received my MA in Teaching.

While student teaching at Mt. Rainier, I heard about a certain science and technology school built around a theme of aviation and aerospace. It sounded cool. I then heard a rumor that they were looking for a math and science teacher.  And here I am.

When I’m not at AHS, I enjoy spending lots of time with my wonderful wife and daughter.  In my spare time I write (but apparently don’t finish) science fiction novels, and play geeky boardgames with my friends.

 

In some ways, coming to Aviation High School is a natural for me.  I’ve been involved in school my whole life, and I’ve spent a good deal of time throughout my life in airports and airplanes as I have traveled extensively.  On the other hand, coming to Aviation HS is something quite new for me, because it has been a long time since I was a classroom teacher.

My earliest memories are of flying.  I was a small child in northern Idaho, but my grandmother lived in southern California.  So my parents would drive into Spokane and put me on a plane by myself to go see her.  I’m so old that in those days, I got to go into the cockpit with the pilots, and I used to help the stewardesses pick up the lunch trays and hand out gum to ease pressure on passengers’ ears as we descended to land.  Then we moved to Hawaii, and I flew back and forth from there to Idaho every summer to visit family.  I experienced the shift from the 14 hour propeller planes to the speedy 5 hour jetliners, and I have been doing that kind of traveling ever since.  I think I joined the 100,000 mile club by the time I was 15.

After graduating from college, I went to UCLA to prepare to become a teacher.  But I couldn’t stand not being in school, so I joined a graduate program in educational research and that took me to the University of Chicago, the third of the four colleges I would attend.  This move changed my life.  First, I had the opportunity to work with Benjamin S. Bloom, one of the most famous names in the education world.  And through him, I got a job in the Chicago Public Schools.  This marked a return to public schooling that has lasted a lifetime.

For four years, I worked with classroom teachers doing R&D on reading instruction.  This work produced a reading instructional program that is still being sold around the country over 20 years later.  The work also propelled me into the ranks of public school administration where I stayed for another 15 years.  I stayed in Chicago for four more years, leading the effort to implement my reading program in over 500 elementary schools.  Then it was time to get my degree and become an administrator for real.

I went to a special program jointly run by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Education Agency, the state education department.  I worked on my graduate studies and worked at the agency at the same time, helping to implement legislative mandated education reform.  At the same time, my wife and I had the first of our two sons.  When I received my PhD, I took a position in the Ft. Worth public schools directing staff development activities for the district.

While in Ft. Worth, I was invited to take the position of Assistant Superintendent for Education in the Huntsville, TX school district.  In this position, I led all curriculum and instruction development efforts, including the development of an Integrated Language Arts program that the state recognized as an Innovative Program.  We also had a second son, giving me two native-born Texans in my family.  They gave me a T-shirt that said, “Proud Father of Native Texans.”  From Huntsville we moved again, this time to the east coast and the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district (that’s a mouthful!).  I was the assistant superintendent of schools and helped with everything there was to do—which was mostly building schools, because this district was growing at the rate of one school per year!

For the last 10 years, I have been working as an educational consultant, flying all around the country to assist schools and school districts with their efforts to improve the quality of schooling provided to students.  During this time, we moved to Seattle so my wife could work in the Edmonds school district, where we live.

I got involved with Aviation HS last year because I found the concept of the school to be so exciting.  I have been helping to develop the school’s curriculum, and when an opportunity arose for me to join the faculty and to return to working directly with students, it was like a dream come true. 

 

After 5 years as a technical writer, journalist, and freelance marketing writer, Jacob Savishinsky came to the field of education through his work as a labor union organizer in Southeast Asia’s garment industry. He first worked in adult training and education, before moving into curriculum development and instruction for poor and homeless youth in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After teaching in the American International School system throughout Southeast Asia, Jacob returned to Seattle to pursue his teaching certificate and Master of Education from Antioch University. In addition to teaching at Aviation High School’s inaugural year, Jacob continues to volunteer for a variety of outdoor and wilderness education organizations as a survival instructor and trip leader.

Outside of school, Jacob is a sailor, climber, Hospice volunteer, and professional jazz drummer with 16 years of experience as a composer, studio musician and performer. He plays regularly around the Northwest, and runs SavvyTone Studios, a digital recording and audio production studio, out of his home. Music has always featured prominently in Jacob’s teaching, and he loves leading music clubs and facilitating students’ pursuit of music in all its forms.

Jacob’s work as a humanities instructor has a strong focus on core literacy skills, historical and global awareness, and social, economic and environmental justice. His approach to literacy is practical, deriving from his experience as a technical and freelance writer in the U.S. and abroad. He has also taught journalism, modern philosophy, political science, music, literature and a wide range of outdoor skills.

 

Dr. Edgerton earned a doctorate from the University of Washington in mathematics education with cognates in science education and teacher preparation (teaching teachers how to teach).  With academic minors and post graduate work in physics, chemistry, and biology, “Dr. Edge” has more credits in science than mathematics, which is why he describes himself as a “data nerd.”  Edgerton is also a commercial-rated pilot (airplane single engine land and sea), flight instructor, and officer in Civil Air Patrol (Director of External Aerospace Education, Washington Wing).  Edgerton joined AHS in 2007 after working in seven other school districts.

 

Born in Seattle, Washington, I was the first girl to a family of four boys.  My brothers, well three out of the four, were ecstatic to have a little sister.  My mom loves to tell the story of how my oldest brother ran down the street saying, “It’s a girl, it’s a girl.”  My dad likes to tell the story of how my birth caused the cancellation of his camping trip and reduced the amount of future camping in his life.

Growing up, I saw myself as one of the boys, but the one who wore dresses.  I enjoyed being outside, playing in the dirt, exploring what was around me, and teaching all that I discovered to my dolls.  I grew up with a love for science.  I spent countless hours on the beach looking under rocks for crabs, trying to find holes in the sand for gooey ducks, and collecting an endless amount of shells and rocks.

As I grew older, I decided that a career in science was for me.  A native of Highline School District, I attended Mt. Rainier High School and did Running Start, which allowed me to further my interest in science.  After receiving my A.A., I decided to leave the state and head west to Utah.  In Utah I attended Westminster College in Salt Lake, a very small private school, and continued to major in Biology.  Even though I had always known I wanted to study Biology, I really had no idea what I was going to do with a Biology degree.  I couldn’t picture myself working in a lab all day surrounded with scientists or going on to several more years of school to work long hours as a doctor.  I could, however, remember how everyone always told me that I was a natural teacher and, of course, the memories of teaching my dolls were still with me.  I decided, therefore, that maybe teaching was the pathway that I should follow, and once I had my first experience in a classroom teaching kids, I was hooked!

After I finished college, I moved back to Seattle and began teaching at Mattson Middle School which is where I taught for three years.  My first two years were spent teaching Earth and Physical Science, not the Biology I loved, but then finally they let me teach Life Sciences my third year.  While teaching, I completed my Masters in Education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction at Seattle University in 2005.

Since 2005, I have been teaching Biology at Aviation HS.  Besides Biology, I have also taught Forensics, Zoology, and am currently teaching Health.  I am also the advisor for National Honor Society.

In 2007, I got married and moved north to Lynnwood.  Even though I spend at least an hour in the car each way to AHS, it is completely worth it to teach the students we have attending AHS. 

In my free time, I enjoy running, swimming, playing with my two dogs, Pepper and Mocha, traveling, and scrapbooking.

 

Your newest Advocate for Mathematics Addicts (good name for a club) has changed his flight plans and you can catch him (if you can!) flying down I-509 on course for his new destination of Aviation High School.  I grew up in the area and went to school in the Highline School District (Valley View, Sylvester, and Highline High).  After high school, I attended the University of Washington where I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree.  The University of Portland was the next leg on my adventure – earning my Master’s in Teaching.  Eager to put my education to work, my first three years were at Chinook Middle School helping seventh graders learn the beauty of math.

I have a deep passion for math and recognize it is EVERYWHERE.  One of my favorite pastimes is simply to look at or think about different things and the math that I can find in them.  Most of my hobbies have a great deal of math in them, and I would guess that I was initially attracted to them because of the joy I find in math.  Some of the things I do away from school include:  carpentry, wood-working, gardening (hate weeding though), gaming (computer and board), and anything else that involves competition or constructing something with my hands.

My love of math is the reason I decided to come to Aviation High School.  I look forward to exploring with our students the world around us through a mathematical lens.

 

I was born at an early age in a log cabin that I helped my father build.  Errrrr well that’s at least what my father always used to say.  I was born in Mishawaka, Indiana but lived much of my formative life in what was then West Germany.  My mother is a war-bride and my father was in the American Army.  My father actually commanded an anti-aircraft battery during WWII and my mother was in the Luftwaffe.  (Before you ask…no he did NOT shoot her down!!)  My first language was Deutsch but that was a LONG time ago.  My youth was filled with an interest in science and space.  I had my own chemistry lab in the basement when I was 9 years old.  I had a fascination for physics and even before high school I wanted to be a physicist.  I started my college career at Rose-Hulman Institute and finished it at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.  My studies there varied as most college students do.  I studied vocal music performance for 3 years and appeared in 14 opera productions before I came back to science.  I have a double major BA from IU in Biology and Telecommunications and a second bachelors (BS) in Microbiology.  My Masters (MS) is also from IU where I concentrated on Environmental Engineering and Geophysics.   I worked as an Environmental Engineer and geophysicist for 18 years primarily doing investigations into underground contamination and designing various systems to do in-site clean-ups utilizing a combination of methods.  I also did a variety of other environmental tasks including endangered species work, power line and power plant siting work, hazardous waste, and many other assignments.  I worked both in the public sector (EPA), private sector and as a consultant.  Eight years ago I realized that I had always wanted to teach so I went back to IU to get my teaching certificate and began teaching science.  My latest assignment was as the Director of the Pike Academy of Science and Engineering in Indianapolis, Indiana and also as an instructor of Honors, AP and IB Physics.  I also have worked at the University of Washington for the past 6 years during the summers as an instructor of robotics and physics for the  Robinson Center .   I also studied in the Physics by Inquiry program at the University of Washington, Physics Department for three years.

My earliest memories of aviation are of being about 3 years old and throwing up every time our prop plane landed on the way too and back from Germany.  As a child I wanted very much to become an astronaut but my eyesight was too poor and I resigned myself to being a scientist that would help others explore the universe and help preserve the planet we live on.  Of course I had other interests. Being from Indiana I always loved playing basketball. Being a German I also loved playing soccer and this was my main sport.  I was lucky enough to play soccer for 3 years for a great coach at Indiana University and continued to play in various capacities until a knee injury forced me to stop about 10 years ago.  I also played Lacrosse and Volleyball for IU as a graduate student and beyond.

I am blessed with three great children.  Aaron is finishing up his second Masters Degree at IU and is looking for a position as a curator at an Art Museum.  Amanda is in Chicago in her third year of Medical School .  Sarah is a budding costume designer residing in Hollywood, California.  I live in West Seattle now, having moved the 2500 miles from Indianapolis this summer.  I saw some interesting things along the way and it was a great trip but a long one.  I miss being around family but they are all over the country now and we keep in touch via phone and email. 

I have a number of different hobbies and interests.  In Indiana I was active in Living History. I did research and built equipment and uniforms and participated in re-enactments of the American Civil War and the Revolutionary War.   I would like to continue in this pursuit here in the Pacific Northwest and am thinking about doing a Wright Brother’s type of presentation for schools and other groups.  I may also work on an impression of an early Washington settler who arrived west after traveling the Oregon Trail.  One of my ancestors came to Oregon this way when he was very young.  He traveled out from Ohio all by himself and ended up building a lumber empire in Oregon .  My father and I both benefited from this money as it helped us both attend college. I enjoy reading, listening to music and working in my woodworking shop.  My other large passion is robotics.  I have worked with a variety of teams and different competitions over the past 6 years.  I have coached teams in FIRST robotics, BEST robotics and VEX.

 

A few years after Hiroshima was bombed by the B-29, I was born in Nakajo near the site once considered one of the four sites where the A-bomb was to be dropped. As a youngster I remember that I was quite fascinated by U.S. military planes flying over us and American in general who were stationed on the military bases. I used to sit for hours watching the big American cars going by and amazed to see American women driving these cars with their sunglasses. I remember it was an odd sight, but a fascinating and powerful image about America left in that young mind.

I started studying English as a first foreign language when I was a 7th grader just like every Japanese youngster. As a 7th grader I had already decided to come to a college in America, so it was no trouble at all to study English for a couple of hours every night. When I look back now, subconsciously I was already developing a plan to escape the harsh life of a rice farmer. I grew up in a farming community and I knew then how hard farming was. So I went to Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

There I studied Spanish as my major at Sophia University, which is a sister school to Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. After the four year college life in Tokyo, my dream to study in America became real. I was offered a scholarship to study at Gonzaga University in Spokane. One year later I was working in the corporate world, Hitachi Ltd Headquarters, downtown Tokyo. While working in the business world, I realized my calling was not in business, but teaching. I came back to the U.S. to study further to be a teacher and in 1973 I started teaching Native American Indian children on an Indian Reservation as the only alien teacher in America at that time. Oddly enough, I taught English, Social Studies, Indian carving and coached American football, basketball, track and judo. The Native Indian children behaved well in front of me because they were intimidated by the judo black belt.

In spite of having had fun with the kids that year, I left the Indian Reservation and moved to Spokane to teach U.S. History and Pacific Northwest History. Four years later I came to Federal Way, to be a head track coach at Decatur High School and taught U.S. History, Spanish and Japanese for the next 25 years. While I was teaching at Decatur, I also taught Japanese for adults at Highline Community College at night for several years and worked as a business consultant to mid-management staff at Weyerhaeuser Headquarters, instructing them in language and how to ethically interact with Japanese businessmen.  My last years in Federal Way I worked at Todd Beamer High School as a Spanish and Japanese teacher.

Lastly, I cannot forget to mention that I was given the opportunity to come here to study, thanks to an American professor, Fr. Don Mason, at Sophia University. To express my deep gratitude to him I started planning exchange programs for American students and Japanese students so that they could taste similar experiences as had been granted to me. So, approximately 20 years ago as a major project of each year, I began planning trips to Japan for the students of Japanese. I would guide them around various cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Himeji and place them with Japanese families in a home-stay arrangement for one week in Hachinohe, where we established a sister school relationship. I have also brought many Japanese students here over the years as guests for home-stay in my students’ homes, allowing them the experience of hosting a foreign guest. I would like to arrange similar programs for the students at Aviation High School to encourage immersion in the language, culture and customs they are exposed to in class.

 

I come from KANSAS.  With that said, you probably now have questions.  So, here are the answers:  The middle of the country is a really nice place to live.  The sunsets are spectacular, the people are warm and friendly, and the consistent change of seasons every three months is energizing!  I have not met Dorothy, and I don’t have a dog named Toto.  I have never seen a tornado, nor have I ever been "cow-tipping".  People do drive cars, and yes...there is a LOT of wheat.  There are large cities with modern conveniences, professional sports teams, and international corporations.  Kansas is as flat as they say it is, and yes, it’s true…there are no beaches.  

I have traveled extensively around the world, including the Spanish-speaking countries of Spain, Mexico, and Argentina.  I have been an exchange student, a chaperone for student trips abroad, and have hosted students from other countries.  Each experience has been unique, bringing to light new cultural awareness which I love to share with my classes.

I taught Spanish levels 1-4 at Goddard High School (a suburb of Wichita, KS) for the first 7 years of my career.  I also had the privilege of teaching Spanish at Wichita State University where the majority of my students were working professionals seeking supplementary education.  
 
I left Wichita to teach Spanish at a prestigious school for the gifted in Sarasota, Florida.  Life on the beach was amazing and the transition from Kansas to the deep South was an easy one to make!  Grading papers on the beach in the evenings, while watching the sun set on the Gulf of Mexico, was a bit of a dream come true…  It was a new and challenging experience, but I grew homesick for my Midwestern friends and family.  So, I applied for a job in Kansas City, and moved back to cow country!

After three years in Kansas City, I was ready once again for new adventures...  Life near the mountains and sea was calling out to me!  So here I am.  I’ve loved being outdoors this summer, kayaking, hiking, and enjoying the many different activities Seattle has to offer. 

I am excited to work with and learn from the students and staff here at Aviation High School.