Laura Arrowsmith » Home

Home


I am the biggest history nerd on campus.  I love, love, love learning history.  If you do not love history, that's OK - I love it enough for the both of us.

I have taught history in the Hart District since 1989. I wore green and gold at Canyon, green and white at Sierra Vista, and red and black at Hart before I adopted a blue and gold wardrobe here at West Ranch.  I married a fellow historian over twenty years ago and we have two wonderful sons.  We love to travel, however the boys prefer to avoid Mom's favorite tourist stops - museums, used book stores, and universities.  The Arrowsmith family enjoys fishing and hiking at June Lake in the spring.  A few times a week, we take spin classes together at Cycleup in Valencia.


I graduated from local schools -Sierra Vista Junior High School, Canyon High School, and California State University, Northridge.  Apparently my 8th grade history teacher knew my future because I won the award for Outstanding History Student way back in 1980.  My senior yearbook quote is about my desire to major in history and become a teacher.  So, I am living the dream!

I earned a BA in history from CSUN in 1989 and a teaching credential the following year. With the patience and support of my family, I earned a MA in history from CSUN in 2010.  I also earned National Board Certification in Adolescence and Young Adulthood Social Studies - History in 2002 and renewed my certification in 2012.

Summer history workshops have enriched my education.  I have participated in Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History summer seminars at Stanford, Duke, and the University of Virginia studying The Great Depression and WWII, Women's History, and The Civil War.  I was lucky enough to spend a week at Mount Vernon studying George Washington and a month in Chicago learning about The Gilded Age and The Progressive Era in a National Endowment for the Humanities Seminar.

I also teach history at College of the Canyons some afternoons and evenings.  I am also serving as the West Ranch Instructional Literacy Coach supporting teachers in implementing Common Core Standards and in Lesson Study.