Introductions

Long ago, when there was no electricity or running water, Mrs. Bowen lived the carefree and studious life of an archaeologist. Little did she know that everything was about to change. While digging holes at Jamestown Island she met her present husband and left the field, so to speak. It seems that raising two children and managing a stained glass business was not fulfilling enough for this over-achiever, and she found herself back in the classroom as an adult working on a Master's degree in Education. Apparently she wanted to know what makes kids think the way they do and why some kids learn differently than others. Two years of teaching and the Master's degree did not answer this question for Mrs. Bowen, due to either a refusal to accept the fact that kids are a conundrum or a hearing problem, and she found herself again sitting in lofty rooms of higher education drinking copious amounts of coffee and trying to sound intelligent. With an almost completed endorsement in gifted education, experience in instructional technology with the University of Virginia, experience in adult education, and five years in the classroom, Mrs. Bowen is still seeking answers to life's most perplexing questions.
 * Shelby Bowen**

This is Mrs. Oetgen's fifth year as a full-time classroom teacher. For the past four years, she has been a primary classroom teacher at Maury Elementary School, a public elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to that, Mrs. Oetgen served as a long-term substitute at Brownsville Elementary and taught Language Arts and Math in Fifth Grade. She has taught theatre, voice, and creative movement summer camps and classes to students in preschool, elementary, and middle school. Mrs. Oetgen worked at the Virginia Discovery Museum during college and loves teaching, both in and out of the classroom. She enjoys field trips, and has taken students to all the Smithsonian Museums, Ash Lawn-Highland, Mount Vernon, the George Washington Masonic Memorial, the National Zoo, and many other historic Virginia landmarks. Mrs. Oetgen holds a BA in Drama and a Master's of Teaching in Elementary Education, both from the University of Virginia.
 * Laura Oetgen**

Ms. Newman is thrilled to be working as the Lead Special Education Teacher at Crozet. Having completed kindergarten through twelfth grade right here in Albemarle County, she is taking on the role of teacher, having enjoyed growing up as a student right here in Charlottesville. Ms. Newman is excited to instruct students throughout the day, linking content to writing, reading, and math. She thrives on showing our children how to reach their true potential, no matter their interest or learning styls. Ms. Newman believes the world is just as accessible to one student as it is to another. Ms. Newman is a graduate of Goucher College and holds a degree in Special Education.
 * Courtney Newman**

Sharon Arnn Bryant has 31 years of teaching experience. Ms. Arnn Bryant taught at the middle school level for 19 years. She transferred to Crozet Elementary School in 2000. She has taught kindergarten through 5th grade. She also teaches a class for Mary Baldwin College. In addition to teaching fifth grade Language Arts this year, she also teaches fourth grade Language Arts and serves Kindergarten through third grade as the Intervention Specialist. Ms. Arnn Bryant earned a M.Ed. and a Ed.S. from the University of Virginia.
 * Sharon Arnn Bryant**

Paula's fifth grade classroom experience comes from a variety of schools and situations.
 * Paula White**
 * At Virginia L. Murray, she taught a combined class of 4th and 5th grade extension math students when she was a fourth grade classroom teacher.
 * At Red Hill, she taught a fifth grade enrichment literacy group when she was a CTIP (Curriculum and Technology Integration Partner). The work her students did won a "Web Site Of The Year" award from the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. Their work, showcased in a Thinkquest website, was based on the displacement of people from the Blue Ridge Mountains during the creation of the Skyline Drive. It was called "What Price, This Mountain?"
 * At B. F. Yancey, she re-entered the classroom mid year to finish out the year as one of two fifth grade classroom teachers when a fifth grade teacher had to leave. Her departmentalized subjects were Math and VA Studies. The description of that experience can be found here.
 * At Crozet Elementary, she has been the gifted resource teacher for the past 6 years, but has often served as the 3rd math teacher in classes where the homeroom numbers were high. Out of the 6 years she has been here, she has had a 5th grade math group for 4 of those. In 2006-2007, she taught a group of 5th graders the 6th grade math curriculum. All other years have been mostly 5th grade curriculum with extension activities.