2ND GRADE

Hi Friends, my name is Deborah Sims Fard, and I’m a Stedman Alum! I grew up in the Park Hill Neighborhood and remember walking home from Stedman, around the corner, to go home for lunch – they actually let us do that back then? My Stedman journey has been student, Para, Summer Scholars Literacy Coach, Teacher, Bullying Prevention Coach, and now back to the classroom. In addition, Culturally Responsive Teaching and Parent Advocacy are additional strengths I bring to our Stedman sandbox. My first priority is the safest learning environment possible as a tool to academic success, join me on our journey to the best learning experience Denver has to offer – Stedman Strong.

Hola. I am Mr. Daniel. I am originally from Venezuela, I have been teaching for the last 19 years. In my country I worked as a teacher for 12 years before coming to the United States. In Venezuela I taught in different academic settings, from kindergarten to university. I hold a bachelor’s degree in education with a specialization in modern language teaching. I also hold a master’s degree in reading and writing and another master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I have two beautiful children, a boy and a girl and I live with my wife and mother-in-law. I am passionate about sports, I have been a rugby player for more than 20 years and I have been a coach for different teams, in Venezuela I was a coach for the under-18 national team. I have practiced other sports such as Greco-Roman wrestling and judo. I also like soccer. I am currently the coach of my son’s soccer team. What I enjoy most is being able to share time with my family and travel.

My name is Ben DeLawyer and I am one of Stedman’s 2nd Grade Spanish Immersion teachers. I enjoy teaching early elementary and could not be more excited to be doing so in a dual immersion classroom at the 2nd Grade level. A few years ago I moved home to the U.S. after teaching in Pamplona, Spain for three years, where my passion for the Spanish language came alive. Having been an educator in Spain and learning a second language myself, I strongly believe in and value bilingual education, especially from a young age. Being bilingual in Spanish in the 21st century will open many, many doors for students, and I’m looking forward to contributing as much as I can to our young learners at Stedman to help them grow in that capacity. On a personal level I love traveling, camping, backpacking, outer space, ping-pong, disc golf, soccer, card games, board games, chess, and spending time with family and friends. See you soon!