Dear Northside learners and colleagues,

Gina asked us to share something about ourselves, so here is my story of  “Why I’m Proud to be a Northside Teacher.”

This is my fifth year teaching the morning Transitions class at Northside.  Previously, I taught ABE/GED classes at Broadway High School (with help from Mary M. one year and Vicki another year) and at a former partnership site in north Minneapolis (with help from Gretchen for several months).  For eight years, I also taught the Lehmann evening Transitions class two nights a week.  However, now I’m just teaching in the mornings.

My husband and I moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota twelve years ago because he took a new job.  In Milwaukee, I had volunteered with an adult literacy program, and I was hoping to do the same here.  I found out about the Minneapolis Adult Basic Education Program at the Lehmann Center, and as they say, “the rest is history.”  I had the opportunity to work with Betty Jacobson’s ABE 1 class for two years, and I spent a summer with Project Regina.  While I was working as a volunteer, I also went back to school to get my ABE teaching license and my master’s degree in Adult Education from the University of Minnesota.

I feel very privileged to be a teacher in this program, and I am particularly proud to be a part of our Northside ABE community.  Reading has always been one of my passions, and I can still remember getting my first library card even before I started school!  Sharing my love of reading through the Northside Book Club the past three years has been especially rewarding, and I look forward to reading another book together this spring.  All of us come from different backgrounds with different life experiences, but we are all here to learn from and support each other.  That’s why I’m proud to be a Northside teacher!

Best wishes to everyone for a great school year ~

Darlene