Hi there, my name is Amanda Matthews. I am thrilled to be joining Westgate Community school as the High School English teacher and 11th grade advocate for 2019-2020 school year. I am new to high school teaching but not new to education. I started my career in education teaching preschool. Most recently I was working on building social-emotional skills with elementary school students. 

 
After graduating with a BA in Media Production I was inspired to teach media literacy, production and theatre arts. I took time and traveled through Europe for 6 weeks with an 85L pack, a journal, and a good friend. Upon returning to the U.S., with my travel bug at rest, I got a dog and moved to Colorado for graduate school at Naropa University. 
 
At Naropa, I studied various philosophies of education both in the eastern and western worlds, which changed my lens of education and what it should and could be. I believe in the mission of Westgate to achieving success by focusing on individualized goals. I believe in nourishing students in their talents to bring forth their best. 

 

When I am not in my classroom, I love spending time with my partner, my dog Bentley, traveling the U.S. and visiting family. A goal of mine is to visit all National Parks in the U.S. National Parks System. Cheers! 

 

 “Education in the true sense is helping the individual to be mature and free, to flower greatly in love and goodness. That is what we should be interested in, and not in shaping the child according to some idealistic pattern.”

— Jiddu Krishnamurti