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Hello and Welcome to the Soaring Hawk 

English Language Development Website!

My name is Jennifer Tracy and I am the English Language Development teacher at Soaring Hawk.  I have the privilege of working with English Language Learners in kindergarten through sixth grade.  I love the work that I do, and look forward to coming to work each and every day!

Educational Background:

I truly enjoy learning and staying current on educational trends.  This might explain why I hold a Bachelor's degree in addition to two Master's degrees.  I have always loved school and plan to be a "forever student!"  After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1997, I relocated to Colorado to begin my teaching career.  I enjoyed woking at Majestic Heights Elementary in Boulder for a few years, but spent many years at Kenton Elementary in Aurora, Colorado.  It was at this school that I developed a passion for teaching English.

In response, I decided I wanted more information on how to best meet the needs of my students acquiring English and decided to pursue my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on educating linguistically diverse learners from the University of Colorado.  I worked at Kenton Elementary teaching first grade for 8 years, applying the learning from my new degree and loving it.  

My sister, Kim D'Arthenay, was teaching art at Soaring Hawk Elementary and mentioned that there were some first grade openings.  Since I had been driving to Aurora from Colorado Springs for about 5 years (and my car was falling apart!), I decided to investigate Soaring Hawk further.  After visiting the school, I knew it would be a great place to work and develop professionally.  In 2006, I accepted a first grade position and enjoyed learning about a new district and a new school.

After one year at Soaring Hawk, the English Language Development position opened up and with the encouragement of my sister, I applied.  From this point, I have not looked back!  Occasionally, I miss having my own self-contained classroom of students, but everyday I LOVE what I do!  I get to know my students and have the chance to see them grow year after year.  I take my job very seriously and see myself as both an advocate of students and a facilitator for learning.  After all of these years, I still have the same excitement for the job that I had that first day!

I am also a person who appreciates staying up to date on the latest research, and furthering myself professionally.  Therefore, about 14 years ago, I began working for Regis University teaching in two different graduate programs (Reading and Linguistically Diverse Learner). Simultaneously, I began working toward my second Master's degree, this time in Educational Leadership with Principal Licensure.  I have found the content of my second Master's degree very interesting and helpful as I coach teachers on best practices to use with the English Language Learners in their classrooms.  Though I am not looking for a principalship at this point in time, I am thinking about writing curriculum for educating English Language Learners because I think that would be an interesting pathway to explore.  Right now, though, I can't imagine leaving the position I have at Soaring Hawk Elementary.  One cannot find a more supportive staff, insightful administration and wonderful group of students! 

Personal Information:

I was so lucky to be able to work at the same school as my sister, Kimberley D'Arthenay (Art) for 17 years!  My sister and I were born in Sherbrooke, Quebec and lived there for the first part of our childhood.  We moved to the United States when our parents divorced, but still spent a significant amount of time in Canada during the summers and on winter breaks, spending time with our father and stepmother.  I thoroughly enjoyed my childhood in Vermont, but after attending college not far from home, I knew it was time to venture on my own adventure.  So, I packed everything I owned into my Ford Escort and made my way to beautiful Colorado.  Upon arrival in Boulder, after driving cross-country from Vermont, I met a man named Steve and we became friends instantly.  We had many common interests and found ourselves hiking and snowboarding together almost every weekend!  We did a lot of rollerblading around Boulder with Steve's son, Anthony, who was 5 at the time.  In 2006, my husband Steve and I were married and we became a little family.  Anthony was a very funny and athletic little boy, and is now working in the computer science industry focusing on artificial intelligence.  It has been wonderful to be able to spend time with my best friend doing a variety of outdoor activities.  We enjoy everything from hiking, mountain biking and riding motocross to snowboarding, snowshoeing and playing ice hockey.  We both love to stay active and enjoy spending time with friends and family.  We live in such a beautiful place, we take advantage of being outside rain, shine or SNOW!