¡Hola y bienvenidos a la clase de Español!
My name is Ms. Earnest and I will be your teacher for the 2015-2016 academic year. Here at OCPA, I am the middle school Spanish teacher. This is a new, developing program so I ask for your patience and flexibility as we build a wonderful program together! I also am a resource/intervention teacher in 7th grade math and reading classes. This past year, I started the school's first multicultural club available to students of all grade levels.
While working as a Spanish teacher, I am also taking classes to finish my Masters of Arts in Educational Technology degree through Michigan State University, which will also add the NP (technology) Endorsement to my teaching certificate.
Before I began my position at OCPA, I worked at a technology company which was the largest software provider for non-profit organizations and independent schools. As an educational consultant, I worked with the K-12 independent schools. I assisted these schools in setting up their admissions office and registrars office databases.
Previously, I taught Spanish 1 and 2 to students in grades 9-12 at Summerville High School in South Carolina after having lived in Michigan my entire life. I am currently certified to teach in Michigan, South Carolina and Florida.
In 2012 I completed my internship year at Webberville Middle and High School in Webberville, Michigan. This was after I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, from Michigan State University in 2011. I also studied abroad in the summer of 2009 where I lived in Santander, Spain and took classes at La Universidad Internacional Menédez Pelayo.
Eventually, I hope to travel back to Spain or to another Spanish speaking country where I can teach English as a second language while continuing to learn and further my Spanish language abilities and cultural knowledge.
After receiving my MA in Ed Tech, I hope to combine my experiences with teaching and apply my newly acquired skills and abilities to new opportunities that are brought to light in a constantly growing technological world.
When I am not teaching, I love to be outdoors! My fiance and I have a dog, Rusty, and a cat, Snuffles, that are our priority at the moment and we love taking Rusty for long walks around the park. Because I live in Orlando, I also love visiting Disney World and Universal Studios as much as possible! Some other passions of mine include music, as I have played the violin for 20+ years, dancing, and traveling. I have visited over 14 different countries and hope to keep adding to that list! Learning about new cultures and countries is the reason why I became a Spanish teacher so I hope I can share those passions with you in our time together.
Specialties: Fluent in Spanish
