JRA: Elementary: Michele Tankersley

June 29, 2009

Dear Parents,

I am so looking forward to getting to know your children and beginning a journey of discovery, laughter, and fun.  This will be my very first year at JRA, and I am both honored and excited to be a part of the team of educators that you have chosen to help guide your children towards reaching their potential.

I grew up just a little north of Sarasota on the banks of the Manatee River.  From my father, I inherited a love of everything water and spent most of my early days chasing fiddler crabs, climbing oak trees, and fishing off the docks and seawalls that lined the river.  To me, freedom and adventure could be found in nature, and time was best spent in the discovery of new experiences.  From my mother's side of the family, I inherited a love of language, poetry, and the written word.  As I grew older, I read everything I could get my hands on and spent hours upon hours writing poetry and stories in my little spiral notebooks.

With a background like this, I found it difficult to decide which of my passions to pursue.  I didn't know whether I should become a marine biologist or a writer.  Thankfully, Freshman Chemistry made that decision for me, and I set off for a bachelor's degree in Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing.  I graduated from the University of South Florida in 1989.  (If you do the math, that makes me 43.)  Since "The New Yorker" wasn't exactly beating my door down, I became a Language Arts teacher.  Imagine my enthusiasm when I discovered that teaching was exactly what I never knew I always wanted.

I absolutely love teaching!  I wish I could say that I do what I do solely to benefit others, but that wouldn't be exactly true.  I also do what I do because it is so much FUN!  Teaching is an art form and for me it is the perfect genre.  I am very excited about being invited to teach at Julie Rohr Academy and am even more thrilled for the opportunity to share a love of reading and writing with your children.  I have over 12 years of experience and have had the opportunity to teach children from preschool through eighth grade.  Whenever I am asked my favorite age to teach, I always say whichever grade I am teaching at the time.  I love variety, so teaching first through fourth grade Language Arts will be a real pleasure.  I believe that in addition to being an art, teaching is also a science.  The field of brain research is exploding right now, and I enjoy both researching and engaging children in the teaching methods that have proven most effective.

On a personal note, I am married to a wonderful man and we have five fabulous children.  Claude is a civil engineer and is the Public Works and Utilities Director for the City of Bradenton.  Madison is our oldest and will be following in her stepfather's footsteps when she begins her college career at The University of Florida (Go Gators!) this August.  Our son, Burns, is 16 and loves living near the river.  If they could, both Burns and his younger brother, Wyatt (14), would live on a boat and surf or fish every day.  As it is, however, both attend Palmetto High School where we are hopeful that come spring, Wyatt will be a shortstop and pitcher for the Tigers.  Cooper is our 12 year old daughter and is an adventurous, outgoing social butterfly of a girl with an infectious laugh.  And finally, there's Lulu, our sweet nine (almost ten) year old who manages to at once be both deeply spiritual and delightfully silly.  As you can imagine, our household busts at the seams with activity and emotion, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege of teaching your children.  I am looking forward to getting to know all of you and being a part of your children's lives for many years to come.

Best Wishes,

Michele Tankersley