Kindergarten Team
Top l-r: Shereen Wussow, Michelle Locke, Katie Fessler, Cindy Skinner
Seated l-r: Lisa Silverthorn, Tracy Szczesniak, Olivia DeSantiago
Becoming a teacher has always been a career goal of mine and teaching in PISD is just an added bonus! I moved to Plano when I was in 6th grade from up north, and I attended Hendrick Middle School, Clark High School, and good old Plano East Senior High. Go Panthers! I attended Texas Tech and received a degree in Early Childhood Education. This is my 5th year teaching Kindergarten here at Jackson and, boy, do these kids keep you on your toes--but I love every minute of it!
I grew up in a small town in the Panhandle and graduated from Spearman High School in 1992. I attended West Texas A&M University where I earned a degree in Education and a minor in Spanish. I attended graduate school at TAMU and graduated with a Masters in Early Childhood Education.
I taught pre-K bilingual for one year in Amarillo, Texas. I then moved to Istanbul, Turkey, where I taught English at MEF Okulari. After that, I moved to Dallas and taught at Kramer Elementary in Dallas for 6 years. I have been at Jackson teaching kindergarten dual language since 2005.
I am married, and I have a two year old daughter named Scout. In July, I had twins--a boy named Richard and a girl named Scarlett. We also have two West Highland White Terriers named Geppetto and Breeze.
I first discovered my love of teaching by watching my mother teach at Whiteside Elementary in Lubbock, TX. I was amazed at how her students reacted to her and the joy they showed everyday in the classroom. I began my teaching journey in Highland Park where I taught Preschool at the YMCA. I became empowered by the joy I felt everyday as I watch my students learn. I made the decision to go back to college in 2000. I completed my Bachelor degree and received my teaching certificate at the University of North Texas. I was lucky enough to do my student teaching here in Plano and was overjoyed to begin my first year of teaching at Jackson Elementary. As I begin my fourth year teaching Kindergarten, I still can’t believe how fortunate I am to come to work with a smile on my face and know that my students are excited about learning.I married the man of my dreams, Shane, and we have two wonderful daughters: Kelsey 13, and Kayleigh 7. Kelsey, Shane’s stepdaughter, is a bright student who lives with her grandparents in Mesquite and Kayleigh, my energetic cheerleader, is in second grade at Jackson. She is so excited about being a Jaguar. Our family also has two cats, Junior and Tiger and Honey our dog, who thinks she is a cat. I love spending time with my family: watching movies, "Family Dinners" and relaxing at our lakehouse. I am also a HUGE sports fan. I enjoy cheering on my Dallas Stars and never miss a Cowboy game!
This is my fifth year of teaching at Jackson Elementary, and I have enjoyed every year! I have taught Kindergarten and Second Grade, and I am happy to be back in Kindergarten. I grew up in Richardson and graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies. I live in Dallas with my husband and our daughter, Stella. Come by and see my pictures of my baby girl!
My dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher started when I was in kindergarten. Although the days of kindergarten being about finger- painting, singing songs and reading picture books have changed, my love for teaching young children has not. I started my career working with children when I was attending Hillcrest High School. I worked my way through college while teaching preschool. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies at UNT. Before teaching at Jackson I taught at a private preschool for over 20 years. I started my career at Jackson in the fall of 2003. Kindergarten is my passion and I can't imagine another profession that could bring the same joy and laughter that these children do. Everyday is a new adventure in kindergarten! Jackson is my neighborhood school and I love being able to give back to my community.
I have been married for 19 years to Alan and we have 3 kids. Kyle is 11 and graduated from Jackson last year, and Jamie is 9 and in 4th grade at Jackson. Our youngest is Colby and he is 4 years old and can’t wait to go to school with Jay-Jay the Jaguar! We also have 2 dogs, Owen and Jed, and 2 cats Miley, (aka Hannah Montana), and Gracie. Outside of school I enjoy family time, playing with my kids, going to movies, photography and scrapbooking.
I am an enthusiastic bilingual kindergarten teacher! I grew up in a Spanish speaking environment due to the fact that my mom and her family are Cuban. My mom and dad were educators, so I was "raised" to be a teacher! I was born in Baton Rouge (Geaux Tigers) and moved to Plano when I was young. I attended Wells Elementary, Schimelpfenig Middle, Shepton High, and Plano Senior High schools. I then moved all my stuff to Austin and continued the family tradition to become a LONGHORN! Even though I graduated with a major in Corporate Communication and Spanish, all I needed was one year in the Advertising/PR world to know I was meant to be a teacher! I have taught first grade, pre-K and Kindergarten. I love little ones and I could never see myself happier doing anything else!I will be getting married in January 2008, so look for me and my new last name next year! Jackson Jags are so cool!
