I am from Grand Haven, MI. My Dad grew up in Charlevoix and my Mom was born and raised on Beaver Island. I was blessed to spend my summers here at the point with my grandparents, John & Lillian Gallagher. My three daughters are the sixth generation of my family to have the privilege of living here. We have experienced "Cead Mile Failte" from this awesome community and we are glad to call it home.

I hold a Bachelors in Art Education (K-12) with teachable minors in English and Journalism (6-12) from Western Michigan University. I’ve earned 46 hours of graduate study in art and education. I have been teaching art K-12 for 28 years in public, private, parochial and charter schools. It is my favorite thing to do.

I enjoy working with our creative children in the art studio @ BICS. I am grateful for the opportunity to nurture their creativity and guide their artistic growth every year from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Witnessing children gain confidence in themselves through acquiring knowledge and abilities is one of the many things I love about teaching. Children are born with varying amounts of artistic talent but creativity is inherent in all children and must be intentionally preserved. Art education is the development of this creativity in the child. Choice-based art education regards students as artists and offers them real choices for responding to their own ideas and interests through art making.

Original ideas are valued and valuable in art. The global creative economy generates over two trillion dollars in revenue and employs more than 30 million people worldwide. Just as each child is unique, each piece of artwork should be unique, meaningful to them and reflect their ideas, interests, age and abilities. When given the opportunity to make their own creative choices, their personal style of art will develop. Patterns will emerge and just as we can recognize a Van Gogh, we will be able to recognize each child’s work. To learn more about this philosophy please visit www.teachingforartisticbehavior.org.

Art students gain a sound foundation in the basic skills of visual communication and expression. They work with a variety of media each year in order to develop proficiency over time. In accordance with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, young artists practice creating, presenting, responding and connecting to artwork. BICS artists create digital portfolios. This enables them to share and store their artwork from year to year.

Yearbook class is designed to explore journalism, photography, writing, graphic design and digital publication. Students practice collaborative work and personal responsibility for deadlines and journalistic ethics. This course provides opportunities for students to be self managing as well as to lead peers. Yearbook students collaborate as a team and use a publishing work structure to create the school yearbook online at Entourage Yearbooks. Students build a foundation to relate the classroom to the working world through the self-sustaining publication of a hard-cover, full color, 80 page yearbook.

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