Hi! I'm Rachel.
From kindergarten to graduation, I was a proud Eastern Carver County Schools student for 13 years.
I moved to Baltimore as an adult, where I spent years in high-profile communications jobs before I followed in my parents' footsteps and became a high school teacher.
When my family decided to move home to Minnesota, we researched every district in the Twin Cities, and we chose Eastern Carver County.
Now, I am a local small business owner, and my two kids are part of the next generation of Eastern Carver County Schools students. My daughter is in fourth grade at La Academia. Team Buhos! And my son is a seventh grader at West. Shine Stars! I will forever be proud to call this district home.
Want to learn a little more? Let's talk.
Where I Come From
I was raised in Chanhassen, back before Money Magazine told the rest of the world how amazing it is. I played basketball before I stopped growing and eventually found my people on the stage of Chaska High School. I graduated in 1998 and still use "I went to West when it was a high school" to both impress and stun my kids' friends. I went on to earn Bachelors of Arts degrees in English and History from Concordia College in Moorhead, where I discovered the community of a campus newspaper and graduated with high honors in 2002.
I met Matt, my husband of nearly 20 years, at church when we were five years old. Matt and I sang in choir together until we were old enough to be embarrassed by pictures like these. We reconnected in college, and we were eventually married at that same church.
Where I Went
Matt and I moved together to Baltimore just two months after we were married in 2005. I worked for two years on Capitol Hill as a writer and liaison to every member of Congress and their staff members. I wrote official reports for our office's oversight and the President of the United States. I spent the next few years in the nonprofit world before I finally followed my heart and became a high school English teacher. My students would hear my professional background and declare, "And you're working here?!" I went on to earn a Master of Arts in Leadership in Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University.
Teaching will always be the most exhausting, most rewarding, most enlightening job I have ever had. I know the wonder of a classroom in which every student is loved and supported and able to reach their full potential. I can still see that moment when a student who has been struggling says, "I get it!" and the student who has always flown high is truly challenged. The learning that can happen for every student in that type of environment is nothing short of magical. I know that type of learning happens in Eastern Carver County all the time, and I'm eager to see it happen more and more.
Where I Am
I taught until my son was born nearly thirteen years ago. I turned my attention to him...and I also started writing. I kept on writing until it became a full-time job that eventually allowed me to hire other people to help me. Now, I own a thriving small business that works with businesses that create tools teachers use in classrooms. I have written everything from a guide to the GED to AP Social Studies textbooks, including AP European History and AP Microeconomics. I also write for national magazines, have created programs to support Carver County veterans, and have even founded another company that helps other moms find the time and space to write and retreat.
After my daughter was born--the year before my son was due to start kindergarten--our family knew we had to make a choice: stay in Baltimore for the next twenty years while our kids attended school, or move back to the Midwest. After teaching on the east coast, I knew we needed to educate our kids back where we were from. I researched every school system in the Twin Cities area (comparing the metrics that only a former teacher who now has the fiscal responsibility of a small business owner could think of). And even though I told Matt, "I will live anywhere but where I grew up!" here we are.
And I am so proud of the decision we made.
Every day, our kids are loved, honored, and supported inside their schools. Our teachers and staff have been asked to do so much these last few challenging years, and they have risen to the occasion every time. They are the reason our schools are still a destination district, one so many families like ours seek out and choose.
But that does not mean there isn't still plenty of work to do. I am eager for the opportunity to ensure every student in Eastern Carver County Schools receives exactly the education they need. I am excited for the partnerships within the broader community and for the opportunities to work together. The responsibility of being a part of the team that manages our schools is not one I take on lightly, but it is one that I anticipate with unparalleled enthusiasm.
