This is our space to celebrate and highlight what happens in room 117 at Trillium Charter School. Michael's class, made up of 4th and 5th graders, will be spending the year creating, learning and working together for a common goal: to challenge ourselves and find new levels of excellence.
My name is Michael Koopman and I have been working in education since 2008. I grew up in a small town in Eastern Oregon called La Grande. It's a quiet beautiful farm town nestled in the Blue Mountains surrounded by rivers, lakes and forests. I was born in this town and stayed through High School. In High School I was involved in our leadership program and took the position of class representative for three years. I played trumpet in our marching band and sang in our acapella choir. I started performing on stage in our musicals and began to love acting and theatre.
I went to college at the University of Oregon where I began to gravitate towards Theatre Arts as my major. Through the theatre program I was able to travel abroad in London for four months where I took acting classes and watched many plays.
My experience in London motivated a move to NYC where I resided for two years. In New York I waited tables at a high end restaurant while auditioning and booking acting and modeling jobs. After my NYC stint I decided the east coast was amazing but not meant for me as a home. I returned to my home and felt that Portland fit me better than the big apple.
In Portland I pursued my acting career further and appeared in many television commercials, print ads and local film projects. I longed for a need of something else in my life so I decided to take a part time job working with children at Kids Community Learning Center in northwest Portland. At that time everything changed. I found a profession I cared about more than acting and devoted my life to education with children.
I worked for KCLC for a total of 6 years, taking one year off to go to Lewis and Clark and receive my teaching credentials.
My current position at Trillium is a new adventure that I am thrilled about. My goals are to be able to apply my life experience as well as my years of work with youth to my classroom position. My ultimate goal was to be a full time classroom teacher and I am honored to begin that journey here at Trillium Charter School!
I went to college at the University of Oregon where I began to gravitate towards Theatre Arts as my major. Through the theatre program I was able to travel abroad in London for four months where I took acting classes and watched many plays.
My experience in London motivated a move to NYC where I resided for two years. In New York I waited tables at a high end restaurant while auditioning and booking acting and modeling jobs. After my NYC stint I decided the east coast was amazing but not meant for me as a home. I returned to my home and felt that Portland fit me better than the big apple.
In Portland I pursued my acting career further and appeared in many television commercials, print ads and local film projects. I longed for a need of something else in my life so I decided to take a part time job working with children at Kids Community Learning Center in northwest Portland. At that time everything changed. I found a profession I cared about more than acting and devoted my life to education with children.
I worked for KCLC for a total of 6 years, taking one year off to go to Lewis and Clark and receive my teaching credentials.
My current position at Trillium is a new adventure that I am thrilled about. My goals are to be able to apply my life experience as well as my years of work with youth to my classroom position. My ultimate goal was to be a full time classroom teacher and I am honored to begin that journey here at Trillium Charter School!