Welcome to Gifted and Talented at Las Lomas!  I am thrilled to teach your child!  This is my 25th year teaching and my 24th year in NEISD.  I have taught first, second, and fourth grades, along with kindergarten through fifth grades in Gifted and Talented.  I attended The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, but have been a happy Texan transplant ever since I received my Master of Science in Urban Multicultural Education degree from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

I have been happily married to Jason since May 2000.  He works at Coates Library at Trinity University and loves learning new languages!  He was born and raised in rural east Tennessee, but is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.  He also speaks, reads, & writes some French, German, Arabic, and is currently working on Chinese (Mandarin). We have a beautiful kiddo named Carolina, who is an astonishing digital artist, loved Tech Theater, and enjoys being outdoors (walking, gardening, etc.).  Our dog, Ollie, is a rescue APBT who was was dumped along with his sister, both starving, at my previous campus, which was just up the road from a shelter.  Our best guess is that the shelter was full or unable to take them for some reason.  His sister is now a service dog and Ollie is a very loved, spoiled dog who learns faster than any dog I've ever met!  Our newest addition is Ruckus.  He is also a pit bull mix who was abandoned.  We had forgotten how much having a puppy is like having a toddller!  We took him in on Good Friday.  In about 5 months, he's gained almost 60 lbs.!  I'm wondering if there's not some Great Dane in there.  He is BIG and now happily spoiled in our home, too!

I love everything technology and will be integrating it as much as possible in all that we do!  That said, after all of the social-emotional upheaval the pandemic has caused, we will also have a BIG focus on hands-on and social-emotional learning activities.  I look forward to working with your Las Lomas Lions!  If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out!  I typically respond within 24 hours (or less).  If you haven't heard back from me by then, please feel free to re-send or reach out again--it may have gotten lost along the way somehow.  The best way to reach me is via email, mhardi@neisd.net, which goes directly to my laptop and my phone! 

I'm looking forward to an amazing year!