All About Mrs. Dougan
It
is truly a pleasure to work in the Meridian School District.
This is my 19th year of teaching here, but prior to that, I was a
student from the fourth grade through high school, graduating in 1984.
I am excited about the successes and improvements our district
has seen over the years and am looking forward to seeing that tradition
continue.
I think I always wanted to be teacher from a very young age.
Just ask my younger brother, Todd. After high school, I attended Pacific Lutheran University in
Tacoma (Go, Lutes!) and then returned home for a year as a substitute
in Whatcom County schools. Then one summer day in 1989, I learned
of an opening as a fourth grade teacher at Irene Reither. I was
hired and spent three years teaching fourth grade at Irene and then
moved over to Ten Mile when the new school was built in the fall of
1992. Also, in 1992, I completed my master's in education at
Western Washington University. Since then, I have taught fourth
grade, fifth grade, a split fourth/fifth, and multigrade fourth/fifth.
These are my favorite grades to teach!
I believe in keeping the challenge the equitable; that is, a
student should be challenged at his or her own level. Students
struggling to reach grade level should not be overwhelmed by hours and
hours of the same homework given to a highly capable child who
completes the homework in a matter of minutes. I challenge the
students with different reading groups, spelling groups, math
assignments, monthly book projects, and choices of assignments in other
curricular areas. Academic challenge is very important and it is my
responsibility to work hard to make sure all children grow while
spending a year in my classroom.
I also believe in a lot of communication, so you can expect a weekly
newsletter from me every Monday throughout the school year, telling you
what we are working on, important dates, and other interesting tidbits
like good workers and that sort of thing. I send home corrected
work on Mondays in a packet with a progress report listing any missing
work. As a parent, I have always enjoyed seeing my own children's
schoolwork and appreciate knowing what is going on in the classroom.
Hopefully a Monday packet will help you monitor your child'
progress.
My husband, Mike, and I have three daughters who attend Meridian schools: Sara, fifth
grade; Katie, second grade; and Emma, kindergarten. The girls enjoy
many different school activities, including soccer and basketball.
My family enjoys frequent summer camping trips to state parks such as
Fort Casey, Pearrygin, and Wenatchee Confluence. We recently
bought a couple of jet skis and enjoying this new activity. Mike
is the sales manager of King Nissan/Volvo and is an avid fisherman.
I thoroughly enjoy working in a small school district. It has
been fun to get reacquainted with high school friends and to have their
children in my class. I haven't had any of their grandchildren
yet, but since I have about 25 more years of teaching ahead of me, I'm
sure I will eventually have someone's grandchildren in my class!
Thank you for all your support and I'm looking forward to another great school year!
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