Hi, my name is Sharlene Sanderson, and I am excited to begin my 8th year as an instructional assistant at Apex Elementary! My education journey began during my undergraduate years and continues to this day. I started as a general chemistry teaching assistant, was an environmental educator for five years, and spent five years as the lead reading coach for the YMCA's Y-Learning program. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY's Environmental Science and Forestry in 1992 and a Master of Science from NCSU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1997. My husband and I have been married for 25 years this year. We have two grown sons and a dog named Buster. At home, my husband and I enjoy birdwatching and practicing permaculture. We love eating the blueberries, gumi berries, figs, paw paws, and persimmons that grow right in our yard :) Our next experiment is trying to grow lemon and lime trees!

I am looking forward to another great year working alongside our incredible staff and to my role in helping students grow here at AES!