Biography

Isla has had a passion for teaching for as long as she can remember. Isla’s approach to teaching math is to highlight its beauty through visual hands-on problem-solving and to collaborate with her colleagues to create connections across subjects to bring math into the real world. Isla is passionate about cultivating community in the classroom for her students. She draws from a wealth of experience ranging from outdoor education programs in Canada, to teaching animal anatomy labs in college, to starting her formal teaching career in Ontario, Canada.

Isla started as a special education specialist, then transitioned to teaching middle school science in the public system, incorporating hands-on project-based learning in the classroom. Since moving to San Francisco, she has spent time with the Horizon’s program at San Francisco Friends School and previously served as the fourth through sixth grade STEM teacher at Guidepost Montessori Yerba Buena (formerly AltSchool). Outside of school, Isla loves to swim, cycle, bake, and spend time with her husband and son in the outdoors.