My name is Mirela Abild, and this is my 13th year serving Lovejoy families and students. I am so excited to start this school year in my new role as an ELL teacher. To have this opportunity to continue to serve our students has been a dream come true. I live in Winterset with my husband Zach, our four children, and our two dogs Leo and Sophie.
Being bilingual myself, and coming into this country at a young age, I believe I bring diversity and richness of life that has given me a better understanding of the process of teaching a second language.
Hello Families of Lovejoy!
My name is Vivian Longden. I came to Lovejoy in January after graduating from Iowa State University. I am in 4th and 5th grade classes supporting our MLL students. I am happy to help in Spanish and English. I look forward to meeting all our students and families this year!
Hey there Cruisers!
I am one of three ELL teachers here at Lovejoy. I LOVE what I do and feel so lucky to work with the teachers and students here. I have been teaching ELL at Lovejoy since 2015. It is what I did when I first started with the Des Moines Public Schools clear back in 1997! I taught ELL for ten years at Willard Elementary, but then felt the calling to become a classroom teacher, which is what brought me to Lovejoy. I switched back and forth between teaching 2nd and 3rd grade for six years and really missed ELL. ELL is truly where my heart is, and I am so happy to be teaching it again!
