Biography

Elegan is currently the Director of Instructional Technology and Digital Literacy at Mary Institute Country Day School in St. Louis, MO. She gets to help JK-12 teachers design experiences that challenge, engage, and empower students to deeper levels or learning and development of future-ready skills. While doing that, she overlooks how technology is embedded in the teaching and learning across all curriculums. Prior to that, she was a Distance Learning Developer at Parkway School District for three years. She worked with teachers and district coordinators to develop course materials and activities designed for a virtual experience. She also provided ongoing support to teachers teaching virtually during the 2020-2021 school year. When Elegan received the PAEMST award in 2019, she taught 11th-12th grade Advanced Placement Physics 1 and Principles of Physics at Parkway North High School. She taught all different sciences there for 13 years including astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, and physical science. Elegan enjoyed incorporating real-world applications in her classes, modeled the process of scientific discovery and engineering in class, and encouraged her students to work collaboratively. Each year she took her students to a local amusement park to participate in experiments and to collect data with sensors on various rides. Previously, she taught eighth-grade science at Columbia Public Schools for one year. Elegan earned a B.S. in secondary education-unified chemistry and an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction as a teaching fellow from the University of Missouri at Columbia. She is certified in physics 9–12, unified chemistry 9–12, and general science 5–9. She also is a National Board Certified Teacher in science/early adolescence.