Dear Gardner Community,
Hello! My name is Molly Cook and I am the new Art and K-6 After Care teacher. I have approximately seven years of professional experience in primary education, including serving in the Peace Corps in Thailand as an English Teacher. I graduated from Lewis and Clark School of Education in 2018 with a Master’s in Elementary Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Most recently, I taught at David Douglas and Beaverton School Districts. I am thrilled to begin this new chapter in my career at Gardner, incorporating my love and knowledge of art with young students.
I am originally from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, which I still call home despite going on year seven of living in Portland. I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in International Environmental Affairs. I met my husband, Ian, who is from Portland, in Thailand and joined him on the West Coast after my service in 2015. Ian and I just got married at the end of July in my parent’s backyard in Virginia; a fantastic way to see my family after a hard year and a half apart. Ian and I live in SE Portland, where he commutes to West Linn to run his beekeeping business, and we live with our two cats, Charlie and Cheese Puff.
In my spare time, I read, run, do yoga, play frisbee, and paint. I have always had a passion for art, visual learning and expression. I am an amateur watercolorist, primarily just for fun, but occasionally for others.
I am so grateful to share my experience and love of art with the students and learning community of Gardner. My hope is to create a space where students (and staff!) feel welcome to come decompress and express themselves, not just during class times. I look forward to meeting “y’all this week!
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