RICHARDS ISD

I am thrilled to be teaching here at Richards for an 19^h year (since the fall of 2006) and currently have 8 fabulous classes each day including:  7^th grade Art/Study Skills, 8^th grade Theatre/Study Skills, HS Art I, II, and HS CTE (AV Production I), and Dual Credit Supervision.  Students who want to enter competitions for Art may continue to do so and may submit artwork for our possible end of the year online district art show (yet to be determined).  Jr VASE and VASE requirements and dates are as yet unknown.  More when I find out.  In the past, art had to be created in my presence.  Remember that you do not have to be in my classes to use my free Symbaloo Collections and that there are resources there for any content area we offer (except PE).  Don’t know how to get to it?  Go to the link provided in this website or Google search Dulaney Symbaloo and whatever topic you want to find good resources for.  I will again serve as the UIL OAP Director and encourage 8^th graders and HS students to participate even if they are not currently taking Theater or Tech/CTE classes.  Who knows how things will play out, but why not be a part of the fun as an actor or crew member?  

I have been "teaching unofficially" most of my life and feel that we are all teachers and learners, but professionally, I taught first as an Art Instructor for the City of Dublin, Ohio about twenty-five years ago.  I caught the teaching bug and have loved it ever since.  Prior to teaching at Richards, I taught in Hilliard (OH), Dallas and Highland Park (TX) and a charter school in both Oak Cliff and Waxahachie called Faith Family Academy (also TX), with the latter two locations occurring immediately before RISD.  If you go back far enough, I was a commercial interior designer with a Pittsburgh (PA) design firm, supported my husband's laser physics business (LSP Technologies) in Dublin (OH), and took some time off to be a stay-at-home Mom when my daughter was small, doing an in-home daycare and Discovery Toys among many other side ventures.  All of these diverse experiences have helped me to be a better teacher and make me compassionate toward the various circumstances and situations that require modification or flexibility in teaching.  Civic responsibility is important to me and throughout the years I have volunteered at food banks, “Big Sis” Program, church (Hearts and Hammers, Sunday School, etc.), various volunteer “judge” positions for sports and academic events, voting coordinator, Richards VFD events, and various school committees (room parent, teacher recognition, displays, and events) and these have made me keenly aware and thankful to be a part of this close community and appreciative of those who are a part of PTA or volunteer.  Additionally, I have served on both the GT Committee and Technology Committee here at Richards.

I have been divorced for over twenty years but was married for about the same amount of time through the 1980s and '90s to a brilliant physicist and inventor.  We married at the end of our Junior year in college.  We have one child.  Our daughter, Bobbi was born in Hilliard, OH in 1987.  She lives in Oakland (CA) with her husband Jeremy, girlfriend Cat and my “granddog” Ruby.  Most of you know Bobbi from her visits to Richards (solo hooping demonstration and circus visit with aerial tissue), but you may not know that her degree is in film editing and that she most recently was a film producer and art director.  Jeremy works with algorithms related to charity organizations.  Cat is also involved in IT and websites.   I moved back in with my elderly and at risk parents to take care of them, but my Mom passed away in March of 2024 and so I have moved to an RV north of Montgomery with the future plan of traveling in summers.  My Dad was in the Navy and was a Civil Engineer & Officer, City Manager, and then entrepreneur.  Mom was a teacher, administrator, and then manager for United Way.  Both parents traveled to over 80 countries after retirement.  I visit my Dad regularly who is in an independent living apartment in The Woodlands.  I have two younger brothers, one a Biomedical Engineer in Katy and the other a School Psychologist in Cincinnati.  I love animals and have had just about every small pet imaginable, which is why I do not currently plan to have one, as long as I cannot devote the time and love a pet deserves.  My last pet was a very sweet Bischon Frise who lived to 14 years old.  But, he was quite lonely when I was away at school and I do not want to put an animal in that situation while I am devoting long hours to my students and my parents.  (So, while I would LOVE to see your new litter of puppies or kitties, I am sorry that I am unable to adopt them).  I love the outdoors and hiking or swimming and of course arts and crafts.

I love to travel (summer of 2019 to Florence, Italy), learn new things, and have many hobbies (rock collecting, cooking, writing, puzzles, sketching, etc).  If there were a way to spend my life attending conferences to meet new people in new places while learning new things, I would probably do that.  I enjoy creating art, volunteering, trying out new computer technology, and doing crossword or picture puzzles.  I grew up in a family that often did themed events in the summer as a travel reunion.  We also play games, challenge each other with brain teasers, and do picture puzzles together regularly.  When available, I used to go to plays and concerts and attend home Panthers sporting events.  But since I visit an elderly facility most weekends, I prefer to limit exposure to large groups of people even though we are past the pandemic, because I would hate to discover that I had infected someone at my Dad’s facility.  I do yoga in fits and starts or walk and enjoy the peace it brings when I finish, but have a tough time starting.  I help my Dad with secretarial work by typing and giving tech assistance as needed and have done a lot of genealogy, especially enjoying the stories of people of the past.  I am fascinated by science, especially archealogy, and genetics, and history, especially Renaissance and early 20^th century.  I underwent bariatric surgery a few years back and so have to limit my food intake to frequent but small portions of low-carb options, but have been known to splurge from time to time on a snack or sweet.  My brand new RV was hit by a Toyota Forerunner in July 2024 and I am temporarily in a tiny home in Montgomery until it is fixed and returned to me from Indiana.