Hello parents! My name is Amanda Elgin.  I was born and raised in Chesterfield, Virginia.  In May 2000, I graduated cum laude from John Tyler Community College with a degree in Arts and Sciences.  I married my amazing husband in August 2000 and began my life as a military spouse.  A few years later, we had our beautiful daughter who is now in her junior year at UAH.  My husband was in the military for nine years, deploying overseas three times.  During that time, I ran the Battalion's Family Readiness Group (FRG), disseminating information from command down to families of deployed soldiers.  I also homeschooled our daughter from pre-k through second grade.  It was at this time that I fell in love with education. 

In 2011, my family and I moved to Alabama, beginning our lives as civilians.  I returned to school, enrolling at Athens State University.  During the next four years, I attended classes and worked at Madison Cross Roads Elementary in order to gain experience in my field of study.  I substituted and worked as an aide in their Sensory Unit. In May 2015, I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Elementary/Collaborative K-6.  Shortly after graduation, I accepted my first full-time teaching position at Athens Elementary School, teaching special education in a self-contained K-3 classroom. 

In August 2020, I transitioned out of special education and into general education. This will be my fourth year as a math teacher at AIS. I absolutely love teaching, as well as attending training and classes to grow my knowledge as an educator. I believe that all kids are special and worthy of our very best. They are a wealth of potential just waiting to be challenged and encouraged. Teaching is a calling and I eagerly await our first day so that I can begin another great year at AIS.

Fun facts:

~My family and I love to go camping when school is out.

~We enjoy movie nights at home.

~We have two sweet dogs named Hailey and Esme.

~My daughter is majoring in Computer Science at UAH

~About 3 years ago, I switched to a whole-food, plant-based diet, and l love to learn about health and nutrition in my spare time.