I graduated from Bethany College in 1997 and taught my first 6 years in Concordia and the last 3 in Lyons.  My wife Lucia and I have 3 kids ages 6 (Myah), 3 (Mason) and 1 (Marley).

CLASSROOM & GRADING PROCEDURES:

Following the district grading scale (100-90-80-70-60), grades will come from two areas.   

     *Test/quizzes: Assessments will be given at the end of each unit.  Depending on the pace of each Unit Tests will be announced ahead of time as much as possible.  Assessment material will be similar to class examples, homework and bellwork.     Unit tests are usually about 4 weeks apart.   

     *Homework:  Most days there will be some type of homework assigned.  When homework is assigned I expect it to be neatly done in pencil, with work shown and answers clearly shown and labeled.  All homework assigned shall be due at the beginning of the very next class meeting.  An organized notebook is vital to the success in this class!

HELP:

I will usually be in or near my classroom by 7:45 am and you are more tha welcome to come in for help at that time.  Because of coaching, my time after school during the  fall and spring seasons is almost non-existent.  For that reason, I have listed my home phone number for you.  Please try to figure out the problems yourself first, but I would rather you call me than sit and stare and a blank piece of paper.

ABSENCES:

If you miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to find out what was missed (on your first visit back to class).  Absences prior to a test will be dealt with as flexibly as possible as long as prior communication was made. 

BEHAVIOR:

If your son/daughter is ever sent out of my classroom for behavior (hall, ISS, Mr. Garrison’s office) it is my policy to always contact parents.  Otherwise, I’ll contact parents if something seems to be a persistent or serious problem.

DOING YOUR WORK:                                      

Many times we will be working in teams—however, graded items will be done individually.  On individual work simply telling someone else the answer to a problem while they erase and write the correct answer is cheating and does not help either of you understand the problem better.  Also letting another student borrow your paper to copy answers is cheating and will earn you a zero on the assignment.  Keep possession of your papers.

I have received extensive training on implementing math from a real world perspective..  I am convinced the units your son/daughter will receive are not perfect but are one of the best. 

I strive to present math concepts in such a way that it gives a real life meaning to the students as well as allowing the student to understand,  “Why do we have to learn this?”