I grew up in Wisconsin, and went to my neighborhood grade school named Woodrow Wilson. This is where I learned to read. I was lucky enough to have two wonderful parents and a big brother, who also helped teach me to read. At this time, my favorite book was The Poky Little Puppy. I think I liked this book because I could relate to the Puppy’s inability to rush. As a child I liked to play imaginary games and do art work, and of course, I loved to be read to.
From there I went to my neighborhood Middle then High School. It was there that I decided I wanted to be a teacher. A great teacher recommended that I volunteer my afternoons at a nearby grade school. I agreed to "give it a try". On my first day, I sat down with a little girl who was having trouble learning to read. I helped her with a worksheet she had brought from her classroom. After about, oh well- one second- I decided that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was going to be a teacher. I immediately fell in love with teaching! I found my passion, my life’s calling! I have been working with children ever since.
But of course, I had to go to college in order to become a teacher, so I enrolled at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. I worked on degrees in both Elementary and Special Education. I took a year off and taught in a one room school house in New Mexico. I then returned to finish my degrees at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. (Because I love learning, I also obtained a Master's Degree during my teaching years.) I taught in Milwaukee for a year before deciding that I really missed the mountains, and moved to Colorado. I taught in and around the mountains and before moving to Fort Collins and making my home here at Bethke.
Besides being a Teacher, I am a Mom. I have two amazing daughters, Angela and Madison. When I am teaching, I try to be the type of teacher I hope my children have. Angela goes to our neighborhood PSD School in Fort Collins and Madison is in Pre-school. Everyday they make me laugh and reflect on what a wonderful life I have with them.