Schools

Introducing Laura Thornton, Cumberland's New Kindergarten Teacher

Thornton is excited to start her first full-time teaching job in Whitefish Bay, after an exciting teaching experience in Uganda earlier this year.

The Whitefish Bay School District hired 22 new teachers this year, and Whitefish Bay Patch hopes to introduce all of them to the community before the school year gets underway.

You can read their stories here.

Today, we will introduce you to Cumberland senior kindergarten teacher Laura Thornton.

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Teaching position: Senior Kindergarten at . This will be my first full time teaching job and I'm so excited to be working with the great staff, students, and families at Cumberland.

Hometown/Current community: I grew up in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I recently moved into my sister's old house in West Allis, which I am renting for the year with my best friend.

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Education/Experience: I went to school at UW Madison - Go Badgers! During my schooling, I worked as a teacher's assistant at a preschool in Madison for four years- which was a large factor in my decision to go into education. I graduated last December with a double major in early child education and psychology.

Through the UW-Madison education program, I had the incredible opportunity to teach at a primary school in rural Uganda for 10 weeks in early 2012. I taught English, Math, and Reading to students ages 9-12 and learned so much about myself as a teacher and person through my interactions with the staff, students, and their families.

I also got to travel some of the country- the highlight being that I was able to go gorilla trekking and see a family of lowland mountain gorillas four feet in front of me! It is a beautiful country with beautiful people and scenery and I hope to return to visit the school again some day in my future.

This past summer I also taught a class called Pre-First Concepts for the Elmbrook School District Summer School program.

I'm looking forward to a great school year and am so excited to meet my students as well as all of the staff, families, and community members of Whitefish Bay!


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