Our Faculty and Staff

I enjoy listening to and collaborating with students, teachers and parents to find more opportunities for students and help the school continue to improve. I have been a parent, teacher, assistant principal and principal during my 17 years at Burris Laboratory School.

I have been a classroom teacher for 16 years and have been with Burris since 2008. My education research interests include secondary education curriculum and instruction with emphasis in project-based learning and student-centered activities; stakeholder and community involvement in schools; professional development as adult learning; student ambassadors and school discipline.

Within my first week at Burris I realized I needed to be in an educational environment for the rest of my life. I am currently a sophomore at Ball State working on my undergrad in elementary education. It took a long time to get here but it’s worth it. I can not wait to have my own classroom and only dream of being half as amazing and dedicated to my students as our teachers at Burris.

I became a member of the Burris family in 1998. My mission is to offer a variety of opportunities for our students to develop athletically, mentally and academically through sports, activities and clubs.

A Burris parent prior to becoming staff, I wanted to find a way to give back to the school community. The aide position allows me to help both faculty and students work toward academic success.

I am in my 15th year of teaching.  This is my 5th year at Burris.  I have taught in all grades 1 through 6.

I have taught in a variety of settings – from an after-school program for at-risk kids to a small town junior/senior high school, and now Burris Laboratory School. No matter where I teach my goal is the same, to create lifelong learners who value the written word and think deeply about what they are reading, who are able to communicate their thoughts and opinions with clarity and conviction through writing and speaking, and are prepared to contribute to the conversation in the world around them.

I hold a B.A. in English Education & Theatre Education from Ball State University and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from IUPUI. In addition to teaching in public schools, I have created and facilitated theatre programming for a variety of schools and nonprofits in the greater Indianapolis area.

Teaching Spanish is exciting! I enjoy interacting with students. I always feel inspired by my students’ drive. I believe in a flexible approach of instruction, where students are encouraged to evaluate, interpret, and apply their new foreign language skills and cultural knowledge beyond the surface level.

I have eleven years of experience implementing special education services for students who need mild interventions. I taught at Eastview Elementary in Connersville, Indiana and R.J. Baskett Middle School in Gas City, Indiana before starting at Burris in 2015. I believe in offering a wide variety of research-based curriculum, instructional settings, and support services to help each individual reach his or her full potential.

I have taught many students with a wide range of special needs. I believe that every student has the potential to learn and succeed and I enjoy helping my students on their journey to success.

I am an alumna of Burris Laboratory School and it is such a gift to come back and serve the current students here. I have a passion for helping all students find their talents and strengths. My role is to support students academically, social-emotionally, and to encourage them to think about and prepare for their futures. I love helping students achieve their goals and beyond!

This is my 6th year teaching at Burris. I enjoy working with students through Math Bowl, Japanese Exchange Program, Camp Crosley, and on a daily basis in fourth grade. I am proud to be Burris Owl and I am looking forward to many more years teaching at such an awesome school!

Books and technology are my passion. I believe that when students are given the ability to explore what is of interest to them in a structured but open classroom, the sky is the limit!

The 2018-2019 academic year will begin my third year at Burris and my third year teaching overall. I take an active approach to social studies. My goal is for students to not just know history, but for them to do history so that one day they will change history.

During my 18 years of teaching, my goals have continued to include collaborating with parents to inspire a love of learning in my students. My wish for the children who come through my class is that they will always be kind, rise to difficult challenges, and become problem solvers.

I’ve been at Burris since 2012, and I love teaching middle school language arts here.  My areas of interest include reading workshop, project-based learning, curriculum development, and high ability education.

This is my fifth year teaching at Burris. I love working with all of the Burris students and I probably enjoy the adventures that we go on the most. Seeing students in different environments such as Camp Crosley, Japan, Conner Prairie, the statehouse, or even at events on campus reminds me how special our school is.  Burris is an example of education in action and I am so proud to be a part of that.

I have completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in Speech-Language Pathology, at Ball State University. I began working at Burris in 2016. My job as the speech-language pathologist at Burris is so rewarding!  I thoroughly enjoy getting to know my students on an individual and small group basis. I love to see my students gain confidence when they are able to communicate more effectively as we work together to improve their speech and language skills.

Since joining the Burris Faculty in 2014 as a member of the Mathematics Department, I have loved being in an environment where students and faculty support and encourage each other through both struggles and successes! Some of my most rewarding experiences in teaching have been watching students push through their mental block when it comes to understanding mathematical concepts. It is a privilege to be a part of the moment when a student realizes they can put into practice the skills we have learned together to solve what used to be an unsolvable problem, building confidence in their own abilities.

I have taught Social Studies to grades 7-12 for 14 years; this is my third at Burris Laboratory School. I enjoy reading mysteries and history books, traveling and spending time with my husband, Nick and two children, Vivian, 9 and Henry, 5.

I have been a teacher at Burris since August 1999. I believe it is important for students to be able to construct their knowledge about mathematics.

My students are rewarded for effort, process, and progress and not correctness, and are encouraged to aspire to understand versus being understood. The Spanish language and culture instruction aims to affect the learner to progress from being a local citizen to that of a self-actualized, global, bilingual citizen who is empathetic to other cultures, races, genders, religions, economic inequality, and political perspectives beyond the local environment.

I have been teaching visual arts for 18 years. I am honored to teach students from grades K-12 visual communication and to work closely with the David Owsley Museum of Art.

I have a variety of teaching experiences from rural to urban, from small town advanced placement to city alternative schools. One thing all students have in common is the desire to be cared for. This premise is always in the forefront of my mind.