I was born in Pana and my family has a long history with Sacred Heart School and St. Patrick's Parish.  I moved to Jacksonville with my family during middle school.  I am a graduate of  Our Saviour Catholic Grade School and Routt Catholic High School in Jacksonville. I have degrees from SIU Edwardsville and University of Illinois at Springfield. My kids are all graduates of  Sacred Heart. My husband Greg also went to Sacred Heart. We have had 4 generations of family graduate from Sacred Heart.  We expect there to be more generations to do the same. I have been teaching 6th grade for 18 years at SHS. History is my favorite subject and I also enjoy teaching our middle school history curriculum. Ancient history is 6th grade’s focus, 7th grade Civics and U.S. History and 8th grade Modern History. Incorporating our Catholic identity  into the history curriculum is an integral part of my teaching philosophy. There is nothing like Catholic education!