My Path: His Plan

Welcome! My name is Tona (sounds like Donna with a T, and yes I have had to add that tidbit when introducing myself my entire life). 🙂 I teach 5th through 8th grade math and science at a Lutheran School in Des Moines, Iowa. I am going into my 10th year of teaching and I have a passion for bringing technology into the classroom whenever I can. I am blessed to teach in a school that is one-to-one with Chromebooks, so I utilize Google tools (among many others!) in my classroom on a daily basis. But before we get to that, let me give you a little background about myself...

I graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with an elementary education degree with a concentration in middle school science and mathematics. My first teaching job was at a small school in Janesville, MN where I taught first grade. (You read that correctly....a young aspiring middle school teacher teaching 1st grade). When you are looking to get your first teaching job, you take the job that is offered to you. I taught there for one year before my husband's job moved us to Iowa. At that time, I had two babies (ages 32 months and 17 months) so I took a few years to be at home with them. When it came time for my oldest to go to kindergarten, I couldn't cut the apron strings, I seriously considered homeschooling, but God intervened.  (Like He often does!) One day when our family was on our way home from a visit with family in Minnesota, my 5 year old says to me, "Mom, I heard you talking to grandma about homeschooling me or sending me to school and I want to tell you what I think!  I want to try to go to school."  This completely caught me off guard, but I truly felt like God was talking to me through my five year old. That next day I wasn't treated very well by the local school when I met with them to tell them I would like to enroll my child in school (apparently if you don't do this the May before they will attend school you are shunned). 😡  I called my husband and told him that I just could not send my baby to a school that was so rude to me.  He replied with exactly what I needed..."Call that Lutheran school in Des Moines and set up a visit."  We did and signed up the same day!  We immediately fell in love with Mount Olive Lutheran School and our baby boy had an amazing kindergarten year.  That year, I volunteered once a week to help with lunch and tutor a few kindergarteners.  The following year I was asked to teach PE two days a week to the kindergarteners through 8th graders.  (At this moment, I realized why God had my first teaching job be what it was)  😇.  The following year, the middle school math and science teacher was retiring and I was offered that full time teaching position...a position that was for the EXACT degree I had.  (Again, God speaking to me!).

A lot has happened since then... 
✳️  I now have four children, ages 13, 11, 8 and 5.  I feel so blessed to teach at the school they attend.  (This next year will be a hard year for me...my oldest will be an 8th grader and will graduate from Mount Olive in May and move on to high school at a different school).
✳️  In 2015, I completed the Colloquy through Concordia St. Paul University and officially became a Called teacher!  (If you are not familiar with a colloquy program, here is a link to more information).
✳️  In 2016, I began a master's program through Concordia, Seward.  In August 2018, I will officially have a Curriculum and Instruction master's degree with a Educational Technology speciality.  I have learned so much through this program and look forward to sharing my knowledge and passion with other educators.
✳️  After I complete my master's degree (in just a few weeks!), I plan to work towards becoming a Google Certified Educator and then an Apple Certified Educator.

So there you have it...my story on how I got to where I am today.

I look forward to seeing God's plan unfold for me each and every day.


HE > I