Mathematics Coordinator
Sharon was first approached about a permanent position in 2004, when a friend and colleague (who happens to be the AP Strategies director) said, “Sharon, I know that you would never leave the classroom, but we need a middle school math teacher, and we’d like that teacher to be you.” Sharon recalls that she in fact was not ready to leave the classroom, but her husband “had a number of reasons” that a move to AP Strategies would be a good one, and she trusted his judgment. Now, Sharon enjoys “the unique privilege of working with inspiring, creative, caring colleagues to write, plan, and implement new math materials.” She also loves working directly with teachers eager to expand their instructional scopes and strategies.
When asked about her accomplishments at LTF, Sharon replied, “I am most proud of the working relationships that I’ve developed with teachers over the last five years. I’m honored when they write or call for advice on items such as how to make the LTF materials that we write work in their classrooms.” She also values the collaborative environment in which she works, and describes the materials creation process as “each of us offering ideas on an equal basis until the product is better than any one of us would have developed as an individual.”
Sharon believes in fully engaging students in the classroom in order to inspire excitement about learning. She says of her experience in the classroom, “I have continually been amazed that students can and will achieve anything that I ask of them, if I give them the proper foundation. At the core of their being all students want to learn, to open their minds to new and exciting topics.” She is thrilled that, through her work at LTF, teachers can access a wide range of materials that engage students and then receive training and support as they utilize these materials. Sharon hopes that the support component of LTF programming will expand to include additional individualized mentoring services offered to teachers, since teaching is certainly not an easy profession!
Sharon holds a BA in mathematics and history and a Master of Liberal Arts. She has also completed post-Master’s work in mathematics teaching. Sharon brings over 35 years of middle school classroom experience to LTF (spent in Garland and Dallas ISDs), and also taught LSAT preparation at Southern Methodist University for seven years based on the LSAT curriculum guide she authored. As an active math coach for MathCounts and TMSCA teams during her time as a middle school instructor, she was a member of the Committee on the American Mathematics Competitions for eight years and chaired the Edyth May Sliffe Committee, an awards subcommittee of MAA, for another three years. Sharon was a state of Texas recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and has been named Outstanding Texas Science Educator by the Texas Academy of Science.