9th grade reading teacher Ms. Fano loves to help students learn and communicate. She is a good person to talk to about anything. Her job, as both a teacher and the reading department chairperson, makes her happy because she knows she is making a significant impact on how the students learn. 

 Childhood 

    When she was a student, her favorite subject was reading because she was always so good at it. Her love for reading grew when she started reading many books. That was when she found out she enjoyed reading.  

    A native of Miami, she enjoys living in Florida because she likes being in the sun a lot. She had a happy childhood where her big sister was a good role model and taught her things that she would have to learn later in life as an adult. She was like her 2nd mom. Her favorite memory as a kid was always going on the boat that her dad owned and spending summers in the Bahamas fishing and traveling from island to island. 

 Life before teaching 

     Prior to teaching she worked in her father’s office for 10 years. Her father was a developer who helped sell pre-construction homes and coordinated the closings between the buyer and seller. The year 2008 she realized that it was not something she wanted to continue doing and once her father retired, she did not want to take over the construction company. 

       She went back to school for special education and completed her degree while working with her father. What made her want to become a teacher was to work with special needs kids because she always felt the need and was always happy helping them. The process to become a teacher for her was 2 years because she already had credits from when she decided to be a teacher.  

 Life as a teacher  

   Ms. Fano says that the hardest part about teaching is dealing with the lack of parental support. She says discipline and responsibility play a huge role in teaching. It can almost be the reason some stay or leave the profession. The most important life skills Ms. Fano teaches her students are about responsibility and the impact choices can have on your own life. If there were any bad behavior in the classroom, she would not tolerate it, and there would be consequences. 

 Highschool experience 

     She went to Palmetto Senior High School where she played basketball, which she loved. She said basketball made her high school experience much better. Her favorite teacher was Mr. Percy, who was her computer teacher and her basketball coach, who was supportive and would monitor her grades and keep her on track.  

   She said, “He was a great person to have on your side, I am still in contact with him till this day.” She also said that Palmetto was a good place. There was a lot of school spirit such as the pep rallies for all the football games.  

Things I did not know about Ms. Fano 

• She played basketball 
• She went to Palmetto High School 
• She presold construction homes before teaching 
• She had 7 siblings
• Both her parents are Miami High alumni