Natasha Robson – Electives Teacher

Location: Islander Middle School
Job Description: Natasha teaches drama and advanced writing to middle school students. She also runs Islander’s Mentor/Structured Studies program with fellow teacher Bill Henneger. Until this year, she produced the IMS school play.

Typical Day: Natasha teaches five classes a day -- advanced writing in the morning followed by drama and structured studies in the afternoon.

Best part of the job: Working with students in her areas of interest. Natasha is a former actress and is in the process of earning her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles. She and her middle school students enjoy working on assignments together, especially poetry. Her classroom is set up in a circle with comfortable chairs and footstools to help students feel more at ease sharing their writing with each other. In drama classes, Natasha’s students learn improvisation, theatre history and puppetry. They enjoy presenting puppet shows to elementary students.

Something people may not know: Natasha was born in South Africa and lived there until she was 14 years old. She has a strong South African accent, but you would never know it because acting classes taught her how to “speak American.”

Years worked in the district: Five years. Natasha came from Arizona where she worked as a long-term substitute. She received her teaching degree from Northern Arizona University.

Outside interests: Natasha lives in a condo in Kirkland near the lake. Besides writing prose poems and “flash fiction”, she likes animals and just got a kitten. Her students have promised to help her name it! Natasha is one of those rare people who loves Northwest winters. “I am an artist so I thrive on seasons and dark weather,” she says. “Our weather helps me to be more reflective.”