Mrs. Donna Hood National Board Certification 2005 Masters in Education 2000 University of Washington B.A. in English 1995 Long Island University B.A. in German 1995 Long Island University Fulbright Scholar 1995-96 Congress Bundestag Scholarship1989-90 National Arts Society Award Recipient 1995

I was born and raised in Seattle in the Ballard neighborhood and attended Seattle Lutheran High School in West Seattle. It was during high school I learned to love long distance running and singing. I lived in Bochum, West Germany my junior year of high school and graduated in 1991. Then I went to C.W. Post, Long Island University in New York as an undergraduate in the Honors Program. During my college career I began writing poetry and had many poems published. I even received the Undergraduate Poetry Award and read my poems for an audience alongside Robert Bly. I also had two vignettes published in Confrontations and a portfolio containing poems and other vignettes won the National Arts Society Award. In 1995 I received my B.A. in English and my B.A. in German. C.W. Post, Long Island University Honors After receiving my bachelor’s degrees I went to Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship where I continued my study of World War I poetry at the University of Salzburg and taught ESL to high school students and adults. Once I returned to the United States I worked for the YMCA as a Fitness Director, worked as a substitute teacher, and got married. After two years I began my Master’s degree at the UW and completed it by student teaching at Sammamish High School. I was awarded my Master in Teaching in March of 2000. I taught a quarter at Mt. Rainier High School in Des Moines, WA and then began full-time at Sammamish in the fall of 2000. Since beginning at SHS, I have completed two marathons in Seattle. I ran my first marathon in the fall of 2001 and the second in the fall of 2002. I continue to run after school as a way to relieve stress and be happy!