B.A., Special Education, Learning Disabilities

M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, Autism Spectrum Disorders

Ms. Harkins joined DMS in 2010 as a student teacher and has tutored students from DMS since 2007, finding that Desert Marigold students have more depth. She became a tutor in 2003 when her mother, also a tutor, helped her daughter learn to read, but became too busy. Ms. Harkins insisted on learning the programs her mother had used, in order to continue her daughter’s progress. She specialized her master’s program to explore Asperger’s syndrome. Ms. Harkins has been serving the learning disability population and has added students with Asperger’s syndrome to her caseload.

At home, Ms. Harkins has two teenage daughters, Jesela and Alyssa, and a preteen son, Maxwell. Her children all chose to play the viola and swim as their extracurricular activities, and attend many concerts and swim meets as a family. Together, they look forward to camping in Oceanside each summer and love spending time with friends.