My name is Gayla McDowell. I was born in North Carolina where my journey in education began. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a BA in Mathematics/Secondary Education and fell in love with teaching. After teaching middle school for several years, I decided to try a new path on my journey. I became the co-founder of a private school in Charlotte, NC. Although I served as the head administrator for many years, my journey did not end there. I relocated to Florida and returned to the classroom with a focus on gifted education.

During this transition, I worked with students from kindergarten thru 5th grade. This generated many questions about children in their early years. As a result, I ended up on this path to Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

This efolio contains projects, reflections, and other work samples of the many learning experiences that I had while at Concordia. It is a compilation of the many new discoveries that I had and the many topics that I studied. An exciting discovery was my passion for increasing parental involvement. Thus, many of my research papers have a focus on parental involvement and I was able to apply this learning in my daily work as an educator.

During this journey over these past two years, I have developed into an adaptive practioner who is equipped to make a difference in the lives of children of all ages both on a local, state, and national level.  Please take time to view my efolio. My hope is that others will also be encouraged to take an active role in providing high-quality education for all children.