Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be returning to the Kyrene Elementary School District as a special education preschool teacher for the 2018-19 school year! This will be my 26th year in the field, and my career began right here in Kyrene, where I proudly taught in a number of capacities across the district from 1993 until 2007.

After finishing my masters and then doctoral degrees, I entered the realm of educational leadership, working first in Colorado Springs as an Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator and then as a district-wide Special Ed Liaison/Trainer, and then returned to Arizona in 2012. Upon my return to the Valley of the Sun I first served as the Special Education/Early Childhood Support Specialist in the Tolleson Elementary School District. Then I accepted the position of Director of Special Education for the Littleton Elementary School District. I then worked as the Regional Director of Operations for a non-profit ED-P provider, and most recently as the Director of Special Education for a National Management, Training and Consulting organization, providing coaching and support to special education staff and related service providers across the state. I have also served as a Curriculum Consultant for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, having written two ECSE certification courses and have been an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University of Phoenix for a decade.

I have worked alongside special education professionals in public, private and non-profit settings in Arizona and Colorado and have consulted with public school and state officials in Pennsylvania and Hawaii. Special Education isn’t just a career to me, it’s a calling. And, of all of the things I have done in my career, working in the field of Early Childhood has been my greatest professional joy – with Kyrene always being the bar to which I held all other organizations. So, I am absolutely delighted to be returning to the Kyrene School District, where my career began.

Personally, I have a wonderful husband (a school psychologist) and two children. My son, Christopher, is 34 years old now and is an attorney working in the field of investigations of money laundering and international fraud. My daughter, Raegan, who is 17, is off to ASU/Barrett this fall to study Genetics, leaving us “empty-nesters,” hence my desire to fill my days with small children again. It all goes by too quickly!

It is an honor to be your child’s special education preschool teacher for the 2018-19 school year! It is my intent to create a joyful learning experience for your child; to be at your service, to honor your parental expertise and to work collaboratively with you and my district colleagues to maximize your child’s potential.

Lynda Mills, Ed.D