A little, well a lot, about me...

Have you hiked at North Lake? - This is the view from Artist's Rock.

Mrs. Mulford - the teacher: Your first glimpse into how long winded I am.  ;-) 

    I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade.  My aunt was a teacher and she inspired and encouraged me in more ways than I can count. 

     My formal training for the field of education began at Ulster County Community College.  After UCCC, I transferred to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, where I shared an apartment with my sister who was studying dental hygiene at Hudson Valley Community College.  We were both fortunate to have the opportunity to work at 'the Albany Krause's Candy' while we were living in the capital region. Tom & Ann saw our years of experience working at the Saugerties store and hired us before they met us!  Anyway, I received my Bachelor's Degree from St. Rose in May of 1994 and was hired to teach kindergarten at a Montessori School in Kingston in July of 1994. I  spent one year there before being hired to teach 1/2 day kindergarten in Saugerties.   

     While teaching kindergarten part time at the Montessori school, I began taking classes towards my Master's Degree at SUNY New Paltz.  The following year I was hired in Saugerties as a kindergarten teacher and I have been here ever since.  I spent 4 years in kindergarten at Mt. Marion and was then promoted to sixth grade in the same building.  Not long ago I attended the wedding of a friend's son and was able to catch up with several former students that were groom’s men. It was fantastic to see how they've matured into successful young men.    Sixth grade took a little getting used to, but I spent six years in sixth before making the switch to 4th grade at Grant D. Morse.  When I was hired in Saugerties my hope was to end up at Morse, my alma mater.  Fourth grade was icing on the cake.  Aside from all the testing, I love the age group and the content. This year, I'll embrace a new curriculum and age group as I transfer to teach 3rd grade at Riccardi Elementary in Glasco.  

     I try to stay involved with all aspects of school.  Each year I set a goal for myself to learn about at least one new trend in education. The last two school years accelerated my knowledge of Google Classroom, Screencastify and other online teaching tools.   I've also been very enthusiastic about working with my colleagues to dive into the Teacher's College Writing Units of Study.   I've always enjoyed teaching writing, but the Teacher's College approach has helped us foster more excitement and engagement among our students.  Additionally,  the buzz word  STEAM ~ Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics continues to be an important movement.  My teaching style has always been a bit out of the box and the STEAM push has reinforced my philosophy that there is often more than one approach, method or answer to any given task.   I've always believed in the value of the individual and the variety of unique ideas that can all produce worthwhile solutions.   I've always believed we need THINKERS & Doers, not just fact filers and test takers.  I've always believed in the importance of creating instruction that enhances these ideals.  Hopefully, the 2022-2023 school year will give us more opportunities for STEAM projects.  

    It is important to me that my students have opportunities for creative, engaging ways to demonstrate the learning that takes place throughout the school year. That means  that not everything will be a traditional 'test'.    Allowing for a variety of methods for presenting knowledge fosters  deeper learning, camaraderie & creativity.  You might not feel like we have 'science class' or 'social studies' class as a separate time slot.    I try very hard to weave our learning together because I feel like that is how life works.  What we learn in one area very often lends itself to other topics and I hope to teach the students to see the connections.    

  For 11 years I served as the district representative for the Mid-Hudson Teacher Center. As a Board Policy member for the Teacher Center, I was able to help secure over $20,000 for our district to train teachers in Responsive Classroom practices and other professional development sessions.   In the recent past, I served on the district's Professional Practices Committee and was Mentor Coordinator for the district.   In this role, I helped our newly hired teachers, psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses and social workers obtain the resources they needed to find success & happiness in our profession.   Not only have I been involved at the district level, I am also President of the Jr./Sr. High PTSA.    As I take a breath during the 2022-23 school year, I'll step back from a variety of roles and focus on mastering the 3rd grade curriculum and adjusting to a new building.       

You've learned a bit about Mrs. Mulford the teacher... now how about 'the OTHER' Mrs. Mulford...

     Outside of school, I am a wife and mother.  My husband and I have been married for 23 years.  He is a motorcycle mechanic and owner of R & R Cycle & ATV  in Saugerties.  We have three children.  All three of our children 'graduated' from Morse. 

After graduating as  salutitorian of her class in 2019, Hilary is now a senior studying landscape architecture at Cornell University and living in Collegetown, Ithaca.  Talk about a STEAM field - her love of math, science and art helped her discover this career path.  Heidi graduated from SHS in June and will study psychology and social work at Hudson Valley Community College.  She is fascinated by the brain, people's actions and how to support and encourage people's  growth.   During the last three summers she has worked at Story Farms and has absolutely loved it.   It is a wonderful job and she always comes home with a smile on her face.    She's been active in volleyball and lacrosse and hopes to play a bit in college.     Andrew is beginning 11th grade at the Sr. High.  As a junior he'll be challenging himself with two science classes  and is looking forward to his fourth year of Spanish too.    Also an athelete, he's planning to play  football, basketball and baseball teams.  He played varsity football last year is excited for the season to start. 

 As a family we enjoy camping throughout the north east, swimming in our pool and the swimming hole nearby, and dinner by the Hudson River.    Fall is our favorite family season because we love spending time outside.  After our 14 year old black & white cat, Leroy, passed away, we quickly realized that our house was less fun without a pet.  We adopted a skinny little kitty that we named Poppi.  She LOVES when we get packages delivered because Andrew builds her forts with the boxes.   We also have a yard FULL of wildlife.    I'm intrigued by the idea of becoming a bee keeper, but I still have a lot of reading to do before I invest in a hive of our own.   

     My family has a long history in Saugerties.  I am the oldest of eight kids and we all went to Grant D. Morse and Saugerties High School.      My parents have 22  grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Many of them will also attend Saugerties schools.  

        A few of my favorite pastimes include reading, yoga  & relaxing around a campfire on cool evenings.  I tend to favor the Yankees and the Giants, because they are the teams my husband likes.  My favorite sport to play is volleyball, but I have become hooked on watching high school sports too.   

         This summer I took on a new adventure!   My husband and I bought his motorcycle repair shop in the spring and this summer I've spent a lot of time helping at the shop.   I'm learning a lot of new vocabulary:   caliper, stators, fork seals...    I'm also giving my math skills a work out with book keeping and  looking up tires with codes such as 180x55x17.     We've been busy, but I hope we get to hit the beach for a few days before school starts.    

           I am eager to learn about the children in my class and I hope you found it interesting to learn a bit about me.