This is my 22^nd year of teaching, all here at Merrill. I work with students who have math and behavior goals. My day is spent teaching social skills and co-teaching two 8^th grade math classes. My goal is to help students reach their full potential and prepare them for high school.

I live in Clive with my husband and two girls. As a family we enjoy watching Gilmore Girls, Survivor, Amazing Race, and the Great British Baking Show together. In my spare time I enjoy reading, going on walks with our mini Goldendoodle, playing board games, and going on family vacations.

This year will be my 6^th year with Des Moines Public Schools. I began teaching at Roosevelt High School in 2017 after graduating from Drake University. I moved to Merrill in 2021 and love the community and students, especially with connections to the students I worked with at Roosevelt. When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time at home with my boyfriend and our dog Peanut. We recently moved to a new house in the Waveland Park neighborhood and have spent lots of time exploring and making it home! I also love running, yoga, and any activity that brings me outdoors.

This is my 22^nd and final year of teaching here at Merrill.  Mrs. O’Connor (P.E. teacher at Merrill) and I will be retiring from teaching at the end of this school year.  Prior to Merrill, I taught speech and debate for 10 years at West High School in Iowa City..  I’m a big fan of the Chicago Cubs and all University of Iowa sports, where I attended school.  I’m a musician (guitar) and enjoy playing in bands.  I’m looking forward to a fun final year here at Merrill.

Early American History is the 8^th grade social studies course for students in the Des Moines Public School system.  It is a survey course that begins with the arrival of the first human beings into what is today known as North America and ends with the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War.  In between all of that, we study European Colonization of the America’s, the American Revolution and Founding, the creation of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and our representative form of government, Westward Expansion and the Civil War itself.

Megan “Señorita” Vernon started teaching at Merrill in 2020. She has taught Spanish in South Korea, Arizona, Omaha and Northern Spain. She is a proud Cyclone married to a Hawkeye. Megan and her husband, Conrad, live with their sassy cat, Rubicita and an athletic, energetic cattle dog, Franky.