Meet Ms. Detrick
This year marks my 30th year as a teacher. Even though I’m currently battling metastatic cancer, I don’t let that stop me from making a difference in the lives of sixth graders in the community. I’m always striving to help my students and colleagues be the best version of themselves.
Long before “virtual” teaching became the “new normal”, I had recognized how beneficial it was to provide digital resources for my students and their families. In the mid 90s, I began using web based resources to create hundreds of digital games and activities that gave students a chance to interact with the material being taught in class. I noticed that making these resources available to my students had a huge impact on student achievement. Despite the extra work behind creating the games and activities, I felt it was always time well spent. One family in particular recognized my efforts and nominated me for “Teacher of the Year” which I won in 2004.
Over the years, I continued to develop my class website by adding more activities, resources, and eventually videos. I had even created a video to assist my twin brother’s son when he was a middle school student. My collection of videos has grown significantly over the years and I’m proud to say that students all over the world have benefited from many of the videos that I have posted on Youtube.
Despite currently being in a full virtual setting, our amazing virtual teaching team strives to create a sense of community, structure, and predictability. Many of our students report to our live Meets every day and continue to amaze us with their dedication and commitment to learning. We realize how challenging it is for everyone involved to be in this setting and we are so proud of the many accomplishments of our hard working students. Watching my students succeed is one of the best “medicines” I could ever receive.