Hello! This is my second full year teaching here at NVA, but I have been working in elementary schools around the US since 2008. Little did I know then, but my initial interest to teach would much later metamorphosize into a career only after having completed 150 volunteer hours at my former elementary school when I was just a senior in high school. My school experience runs the gambit from volunteering for the SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) Program in Portland, OR to substituting in many a K-8 classroom to working as an Educational Assistant in both New Hampshire and New Mexico public schools.
My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a minor in Psychology, which I received from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I also have a Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education K-8 from the University of New Mexico.
New Hampshire born, I have travelled a lot within the United States and lived in various places. My interests are unsurprisingly in the arts, with my greatest passion residing with music. I also am rather fond of hiking, skiing, running, snowshoeing, and attending live shows of all sorts, be they music, poetry readings (slam or traditional), improv comedy, theatrical, or of some other creative earthly concoction. Nutrition is of major importance to me too as I have ascribed to a purely plant-based diet since 2006, as are the general health and wellness attributes such as exercise, rest, and relaxation.
-Mr. Van Norden
My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a minor in Psychology, which I received from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. I also have a Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education K-8 from the University of New Mexico.
New Hampshire born, I have travelled a lot within the United States and lived in various places. My interests are unsurprisingly in the arts, with my greatest passion residing with music. I also am rather fond of hiking, skiing, running, snowshoeing, and attending live shows of all sorts, be they music, poetry readings (slam or traditional), improv comedy, theatrical, or of some other creative earthly concoction. Nutrition is of major importance to me too as I have ascribed to a purely plant-based diet since 2006, as are the general health and wellness attributes such as exercise, rest, and relaxation.
-Mr. Van Norden