Hola! Bienvenidos a la clase de Espanol. My name is Mrs. West. I have been teaching since 2002. I am also a Bilingual National Board Certified Early and Middle Childhood and English as a New Language Teacher as of 2010. When people ask me how I learned Spanish I tell them my story is quite interesting. I began speaking Spanish in High School and studied a bit in college. I meant to have a Spanish minor but when a professor told me that some people couldn't learn another language I gave up. It wasn't until I traveled to Ethiopia with a group of Spanish speaking women that I truly was immersed in the language. I completed my Spanish minor in 2003 and I have worked with Bilingual Students ever since. My husband Jake and I have been married since 2008 and we have two active little boys. I enjoy walking, running (surprisingly), cooking, traveling and knitting. I think languages are best learned in an immersion experience. I utilize a story telling method to teach. This is a newer method, but a very successful one. Find out more in the methods section.