NAME:
Mrs. Tomera
SCHOOL:
Forest Ridge Academy
CLASS:
First Grade
SCHOOL PHONE:
219-756-7300
This is my tenth year at Forest Ridge Academy. For many years I taught in the
public schools in and around Portland, Oregon. I have teaching experience in
kindergarten through fifth grade in rural, urban (inner city), and suburban
settings. For one year I also taught elementary school in Germany.
I have taught many of my 30+ years in multi-age classrooms which means I
taught first and second graders together or second and third graders
together. This background, as well as course work and seminars on the latest
developments in brain research, has led me to contruct my philosopy of
teaching and learning with a focus on teaching children, NOT curriculum.
Much of my energy during the first few weeks of school is focused on finding out what
each child needs to learn NEXT. Naturally not every child is going to be
needing the same thing at the same time. So when you visit our classroom,
children will be engaged in various activities that will be just right for
them. During math, for example, some children may be working on learning all
the combinations that make up the number 6 while other children might be
working on 10 or doing some work on place value or teen number. It is my job
to know each student well enough to be able to invent work that each child can do
and learn from. Children will not be locked into moving through a text book,
page by page. And when you read the curriculum and instruction material I
have written for you, you will know why. See "About the 3Rs" on the website.
My background training includes a BS degree in Elementary Education and a MS
degree in Early Childhood Education. In addition I have 60 plus graduate
credits which keep me up to speed in the latest developments in instructional
practice. I am a past member of various professional groups such as the
National Council of Teachers of English, National Association for the
Education of Young Children, Oregon Reading Association and the Oregon
Association for Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction. Before moving to
Indiana I was on the staff of the Oregon Children's Art Institute. I've also
served as an educational consultant and have made presentations linked to
best educational practice from 1 hour presentations to 2-day presentations in
school districts in Washington state and Oregon. I have also, over the
years, written articles which have appeared in national educational
publications. My first/second grade class in Oregon was the subject of one
chapter of a book entitled "Poisoned Apple:The Bell-Curve Crisis". Just so
you won't worry, I must tell you that my class was not part of the crisis,
but part of the solution. The title of the chapter was "New Pioneers for
School Change."
On a personal note, I leave two grown sons in Oregon. One is an architect
and the other a middle school teacher. Being a parent is a challenging, at
times humbling (have you ever lost your child in the supermarket), and
gratifying experience (particularly when they have graduated from college,
managed not to get into trouble with the law, and have real jobs of their own
that come with health insurance.)
I live with my husband and three fabulous dogs (my husband is fabulous too) in
the Forest Ridge neighborhood. Next to teaching and learning and being in
the company of children and dogs, I love traveling, gardening, and cooking
best. The things I like least are shopping and high humidity. The most
surprising thing about Indiana is fireflies and the Very High Level of
Enthusiasm Hoosiers demonstrate in the celebration of holidays. And even
though I am now an official Hoosier, having attended the Indy 500, I am still
puzzled by the wide-spread practice of people sitting on lawn chairs in their
garages when they have perfectly lovely patios out back.
To the parents of the children in my care: please know that we can talk
about anything -- your child will be one of my favorite topics.