Mrs. Elaine B Johnson

This is my 6^th year as a Special Education Teacher and Instructional Specialist and my first in 7^th grade. My previous experience in teaching is in 6th, 8th, 9^th, 10^th and 11^th grades with my specialism in English and History. I’m really looking forward to joining my dedicated and creative colleagues in 7^th grade history and 7^th grade English. I’m particularly excited to be co-teaching history to the present day.

I like to provide students with ways to learn that suit their learning styles and give them choices.  Empowering them to make decisions about what works best for them helps them gain independence and embrace learning.

As a teen, back in the UK where I was born, I had some educational challenges in English, when a teacher made judgements about my background while disregarding my talents. We all have talents and strengths, and we need to use them to the best advantage. I strive to discover what they are in each of my students so that we can celebrate their talents. Building a reciprocal, respectful and collaborative relationship with my students is paramount in the way I conduct myself as a teacher, with emphasis on professionalism and integrity.  

This year, I invite students to be curious and fully involved in their schooling and to ask questions when they need clarification or have an interest in certain subjects. Sometimes we all need to take our courage into our hands and take some risks and express our needs in the most respectful manner that we can muster.

I am a Certified and licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Virginia. I enjoy the science and the techniques I have learned in this area of work. It often comes in handy while working on and designing positive reinforcement systems some students need and thrive on, not to mention figuring out how to best help and support them.

In my personal life, my favorite hobby is training my dogs, and anything related to dogs. I’ve been performing in Canine freestyle dancing competitions for over 15 years. It can’t get better for me than putting together all my favorite things, training dogs, music and dancing. I relish the challenge of editing the music digitally to make the music fit what I envisage as the end product.

I have two dogs, an 11-year-old female Golden Retriever, Parker, and the other, a 2-year-old rescued Shepherd Mix named Traffy. Traffy’s legs are so long, everyone thinks he is a Great Dane. This guy, who came to me at 8 months old with no training, liked to use his height to his advantage as his nose nicely reached the kitchen counter! However, I have now trained him not to take any food from it!

I enjoy my walks with these two furry family members every day. I like to exercise and enjoy biking, swimming and working out and am an avid gardener. I have a knack for growing plants outside and enjoy landscape design. Doing anything outdoors for me is a pleasure. I enjoy arts and crafts and reading books with my only sibling, my sister, as a twosome book club. In the last 9 months, we have read over 30 books together. Dissolution by C.J Sansome is our favorite so far.

As I embark on this new venture in 7^th grade, I invite my students to come to school prepared to face challenges, be open-minded about learning and take risks to try out new ways to do things.