Welcome

Betsy’s Bio Blurb

Mrs Smith ReadsI began my teaching career in 1979 “deep in the heart of Texas.”  After teaching kindergarten for a few years in Austin, I moved to Southeast Asia with my husband, where I taught Kindergarten in the Philippines and second grade in Hong Kong at the same school I attended growing up there.  After moving back to Texas, I spent fifteen years as a classroom teacher with the Fort Worth Independent School District, one of the largest in the state.  I was recognized with Fort Worth’s “Outstanding Young Educator Award” in 1988 and earned a Master of Education degree from Texas Christian University in 1990 . . . less than a month before giving birth to my first daughter.  My family and I moved from Fort Worth to Sequim in 1998, where I have taught at Helen Haller ever since.

I have been blessed in Sequim with wonderful paraeducators and other colleagues, amazing students, and supportive parents.  I have enjoyed organizing and managing the tutor program that brings caring and generous community volunteers into the school to help our young readers.  I am proud that local businesses and community organizations have chosen to fund my before-school and after-school programs for many years.