Email:
julie_lay@dpsk12.net
Greetings! I have been teaching ELA-E K-5 elementary students for a decade in Denver Public Schools. I have taught Kindergarten, First Grade, Reading Intervention K-5, and will be teaching Special Education K-3 at Force Elementary beginning in August of this year. I am passionate about fostering relationships with my students and families, advocating for equity and inclusion for all students, and bringing joy and community involvement to school culture.
I grew up in Sahuarita, AZ, near the Mexican border, immersed in diversity and culture. I received my bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Southern Colorado, and a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver. I recently received my certification in LETRS and am also certified in Orton Gillingham, 6 Step Phonics, and trained in SRSD. I believe in student-centered practices, celebrating diversity, culture, and the whole child, as well as the importance of collaboration, and establishing a network in the community by fostering partnerships and relationships with families, faculty, and students, as well as any outlying partnerships.
Outside of school, I am a proud mom of a student athlete who is a football player entering his junior year at UPENN, and another student athlete who plays volleyball and is entering her sophomore year of high school. We have a Corgi with a huge personality, named Winston. I love making sourdough bread, gardening, exercising, sports, listening to music, muscle cars, and being involved in my community.
