I am a proud graduate of the Coatesville Area School District.  After graduating in 1998, I attended West Chester University for elementary education.  Upon graduating, I was able to start my teaching career in the Alternative Education Program.  Since then, I have earned two masters level degrees online.  My first was in alternative education from Loch Haven University.  My classes there spurred a desire to understand the history of our school system in a much more profound way so my next educational pursuit was to become a historian.  I earned my history degree from Southern New Hampshire University.  My study of our school system has taken me on a journey from the Amish one room school house, through Indian schools,  to a Freedmans Bureau school, and finally to the Rockefeller Archive center in New York.  I use this experience and understanding of our school's past to help young people understand the importance of the educational journey we undertake together.  When I say school and education are two completely different things, I can back that up with examples from all eras of American history.