Welcome to the Oriole Academy web page. I am proud to be an educator at Hartford Union High School. I graduated from HUHS as did my husband and two children. I went to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh to obtain my undergraduate and master's degree in special education. I joined the teaching staff at HUHS as a teacher in 1987.

In September of 2002 a task force was formed to investigate At-Risk programming at HUHS of which I was a co-chair. The task force was comprised of teachers, administrators, school board members and parents. A recommendation of this task force was the formation of an off-site GEDO#2 program. A DPI grant was applied for in 2004 for the 2004-2005 school year. We came in just short of being a recipient; however, with school board and corporate support we were able to start Oriole Academy for one three hour session per day. We reapplied for the grant and in the spring of 2005 found out we would be a recipient of the five-year grant. The fall of 2005 saw Oriole Academy become a full-time off-site GEDO#2 program.

I am fortunate to be one of the teachers at Oriole Academy. I have learned a great deal from the students. They have been able to excel in ways they never thought possible. We have graduates that have gone on to post-secondary school and the military.

I believe all students can be successful no matter what their past experience has been. To achieve this end I also believe that before I can capture their minds I must capture their hearts. This involves respect, integrity, a good attitude, and letting students know that it's okay to fail.

A quote from Benjamin Barber sums it up. "I divide the world into learners and non-learners. There are people who learn, who are open to what happens around them, who listen, who hear the lessons. When they do something stupid, they don't do it again. And when they do something that works a little bit, they do it even better and harder next time. The question is not whether your are a success or a failure, but whether you are a learner or a non-learner."

Welcome to Oriole Academy.