FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
Kat has taught languages and culture to students from ages five to 75 throughout her teaching career. Being immersed in other cultures is one of her great passions and she has has been spreading the multilingual word since graduating from Fort Lewis with a degree in Spanish and Bilingual Education in 1996.
Kat completed her final semester of college at a University in Seville, Spain and also spent eight months in Ecuador enhancing her command of Spanish. In 1998, Kat moved to San Francisco to begin her teaching career, completing a certificate for Teaching English as a second language. It was there she met her Aussie husband Charlie and they spent seven months travelling throughout Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil before moving to Melbourne, Australia In 2004. Kat continued her training as a teacher, earning a postgraduate diploma in education from Monash University. Kat taught English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) at Monash for seven years, working with students from Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world.
After 10 years in Melbourne, Kat is thrilled to be back in Durango with her family. Until joining Animas High School, Kat taught Spanish at Needham Elementary and Animas Valley Elementary. Kat and her husband love cooking Asian, Indian and Mexican food and she is happy to be back camping, hiking, doing yoga and trail running in the Rockies.