Timothy was drawn in to the teaching profession in 2001 when he was accepted to the New York City Teaching Fellows program, a Master’s Degree program designed to train non-educators (career-changers) to teach in New York’s “highest-need neighborhoods”. He taught ESL in Brooklyn with the fellowship and then decided to move back to the west coast when an ESL teaching position opened up in the Highline School District in SeaTac. After ten years in secondary education, he made the transition to teaching ESL in the higher education setting: first with Green River, then Seattle Central and now here at Bellevue College. He is grateful for all of the professional development and rich coaching he received as a secondary teacher, along with the intense collaborative work with content area teachers. He also believes the different classes he taught in a small high school setting, such as Health, Tai Chi and Chinese Brush Painting, has helped him develop a passion for using content-rich materials to teach skills. He is excited about working in Bellevue College, a place where being/becoming “exceptional” is at the core of its values.
