Hello and welcome to Canyon Ridge Elementary School!!!

My name is Laurie Jean Esparza and I am so excited to be here at Canyon Ridge Elementary School, home of the Coyotes!  This is my first year at Canyon Ridge Elementary, second year as a 3rd grade teacher, and my 19th year in education.  I graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in NEISD and went on to receive my Bachelor's Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and my Master's Degree (M Ed.) in Educational Leadership from Concordia University in Austin, Texas.  I have worked on finishing my Ed.D. in Teacher Leadership at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Finishing that degree is a major goal of mine every summer!!

In my 18 years of teaching,  I have taught students at all levels (K-12).  I have taught band, Avid, general music, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and served as an Administrative Intern.   As an educator, I work hard to build connections with students, meet them where they are academically, encourage them to excel, and ensure they are ready for whatever future challenges come their way.  In my class, we focus on 21st Century Skills: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Outside of school, I really enjoy being with my family.  I am married to a marvelous, musical man, Christopher, who is a Band Director in a neighboring district.  We met each other in Northside ISD when I was a band director for the first ten years of my teaching career.  We have two beautiful children, Joseph David and Madisen Denise, who are in high school at Claudia Taylor Johnson High School in Northeast ISD.   We love spending time playing our instruments as a family!  Marching Band is one of my favorite events to watch and sometimes teach!  My son is on the drumline, and my daughter is a clarinet player and a Feature Baton Twirler at CTJ.  I play trumpet professionally, and my husband plays trombone and tuba.  Education is very important to our family.  We also are huge dog lovers, having five dogs.  We love pugs!!

I believe we are going to have a great year!  Please make sure you are connected with Seesaw, as this will be my primary form of communication with you.