Baker, Tammy
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Name: Tammy A. Baker
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Room: D3
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Subject: 8th Grade Language Arts
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Phone Number: 360-709-7487
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Professional and Personal Biography
This will be my 38th year of teaching.
I have had such a great career already, it is hard to sum it up here, but I will try.
Competition was tough at Monticello High School where I graduated in 1982 with 22 people! I did well enough to get myself to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where I graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor's of Science in Elementary and Special Education.
I then started traveling with my new career. I spent three years teaching special education at Fondren Middle School in Houston, TX. I loved my first job in the big city. I tutored on Saturdays, coached volleyball and assisted the drama department.
My next adventure took me to Wiesbaden American Middle School in Wiesbaden, Germany. While teaching special education the next six years, I also sponsored the Student Council, the Outdoor Education Club, and co-sponsored the Travel Club. Between the clubs and my own travel, I can say I was able to visit every country (except Ireland) of former Western Europe and several of former Eastern Europe as well.
When I met my husband, my travels brought me to Washington, where I taught special education at Spanaway Junior High for one year before switching gears by moving to Littlerock Elementary. After three years of special education, I transitioned into the regular classroom (5th/6th grades). Three years later, I landed back in a middle school, Bush Middle School, teaching 8th grade English Language Arts. I didn't think I would be in one position as long, but this is my niche.
Even with all the adventures of traveling and sponsoring clubs, I remained busy getting extensive training in teaching strategies, classroom management, and instructional skills. I received the Teacher Leadership grant and the training to implement technology in the classroom, I studied and received my Master's of Education in Reading and Literacy and lastly, I took the challenge to receive my National Board Certification in Language Arts/Early Adolescence, AND then successfully renewed it as well. I have continued intensive instruction in technology to keep up with my students and the current events!
And, we haven't forgotten to enjoy ourselves as well. We love to travel and experience new cultures with past trips to Mexico, US Virgin Islands, Canada, Ecuador, and Ireland. This summer we explored our own North and South Carolina, where we found the people to be so nice and welcoming and the terrain beautiful and clean.
I really hope my next decades can match the past ones! With a husband, two grown kids, a grandson, my cat and two dogs and a continual passion to work with middle schoolers, I can only assume it will.