Laura Crowson

I am a 6th grade math teacher at Reservoir Gifted Academy. I'm extremely proud to be a part of this unique middle school. Being on a team here with the staff, parents, and students at RGA is something that makes me feel blessed. In May of 1997, I graduated from Western Illinois University with a BSEd in Elementary Education with a concentration in Mathematics. I earned middle school endorsements in math, social studies, and language arts. I began my teaching career in the fall of 1997 at Mark Bills Middle School and taught all subjects and all grades at one point or another in that building. Seventeen years in, I took a change of pace from middle school and taught 4th grade at Northmoor Primary for the next five years. The opportunity to follow my heart to our district gifted middle school came along, so I returned to middle school and love it. In addition to 24 years of years of classroom experience under my belt, I have a Masters Degree in Teaching and Learning. A lot has changed through all of these years of teaching, but I do my best to keep up with the times and continue my own education. I've attended a "Gifted Bootcamp" at Northwestern University, I'm skilled in utilizing MSTeams, and trained in Responsive Classroom training. I'm married with 3 daughters who (in order) have graduated from Elmhurst University, attend Iowa State University, and attend Richwoods High School. My husband and I are both natives to Peoria, Illinois but you won't always find these two teachers consistently here in the summer...we LOVE to travel during the summer. We frequent Lake of the Ozarks, Seagrove Beach, Florida, and Crystal River, Florida. Around town, you'll see us walking our dogs, riding our bikes, or on the sidelines and fields of the area soccer fields. When I'm not watching soccer games, musical performances or other activities, you'll find me enjoying time in the kitchen, reading, thrifting, or enjoying the outdoors. Road-trips are huge, too. Math teaching philosophy: There is no such thing as being a "math person" or not one. Everyone has a math person inside of them. As a teacher, I do my best to bring my passion and enthusiasm for math to my students. I LOVE WORD PROBLEMS. I LOVE PROBLEM SOLVING. No matter what my students' comfort levels or love level of math is, I will do my best each year to get them to proudly say those two bold sentences above.