A big welcome to Morgan McGowan who will be joining Baymonte as the new IPI teacher! Morgan grew up in Modesto, CA and began nannying at a young age for all ages of children. She attended college at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ, knowing that she wanted to pursue a career with children. She decided to study elementary education and received both her undergraduate degree and AZ teaching credential through GCU.
She did not originally anticipate moving to the Central Coast. When applying for a student teaching placement in CA, she originally applied to a small town outside of Mount Shasta called Scott Valley. However, because of the small typing mistake of accidentally adding “s” to the town’s name, she ended up being placed instead in Scotts Valley along the Central Coast. She chose to take the unexpected opportunity before her and moved to Santa Cruz, where she found a wonderful church family at Gospel Community Church and ended up meeting her husband!
Morgan finished her student teaching placement with Brook Knoll Elementary, received her CA teaching credential, and was immediately hired as Intervention Coordinator and Teacher for a reading and math program that served grades K-5th. For two years, she coordinated the reading and math curriculum, reformed reading assessments, and taught all grades in the program alongside her team of interventionists. Morgan says, “I love working as a Reading Specialist. My favorite part of the job is teaching my students the building blocks they need to read. Students grow immensely by their hard work and it’s a joy to help them see how much their skills grow over time. Once they learn the ‘reading code’, their joy for learning and excitement to read is contagious! I’m looking forward to working at Baymonte with a more zoned focus on reading interventions.”
When Morgan is not teaching or tutoring, she loves to read, rock climb, cook, bake, and teach children’s ministry in her church! She was recently married in April of this year and moved with her husband, Caleb, to La Selva Beach. She and her husband love to spend time outside taking walks, hiking, and gardening together.
We are so happy to have you join us, Morgan! Welcome aboard!
