Meet Ms. Summer!

Hello! I am Summer De Herrera and I am super excited to be joining this crew at Renaissance! This is my third year teaching and also is my third year in the beautiful world of gifted education.  

I was born in Washington state and moved around often during my first few years due to my dad’s Naval enlistment. We finally settled in Colorado in the late 90’s.  So I say I am unofficially, officially, a Colorado native. As a kid, I wanted to be a teacher, but also had a heart for helping people and so I went back and forth with what I wanted to do throughout highschool and early in college.  In high school, I was active with the colorguard for marching band, a competitive diver, a dramatic interpretation speaker for speech & debate, and in my junior and senior years I commanded the color guard and served as an L4 commanding officer for JROTC.  In 2010, we - the JROTC color guard- were even able to present the flags to the one and only Michelle Obama and I still am honored to have received a letter of recognition from her for it.  

As a proud first gen graduate, I pursued my undergraduate at Metropolitan State University of Denver in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, while additionally minoring in Human Services.  I am also currently working on my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an additional endorsement in Gifted, Creative and Talented Studies.  Throughout college I taught swimming and diving lessons to infants through teenagers and it was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had.  Being a part of the graduating class of 2020, I decided to pursue a position as a paraprofessional for special education while I gained more experience in this new world of education.  My last two years I worked in a Title I school as a fourth grade cluster classroom teacher. While there, I also co-lead a Math Olympiads team in the fall and a Girls on the Run team in the spring.  Last year, I also served on the SoMe CAGT board as a Director of Family Outreach. 

I love onomatopoeias, am a firm believer of the English Comma, and corny “dad” jokes. I recently have taken up gardening to deepen my connection with the earth and rediscovered my love of fantasy reading. In addition, I enjoy taking day trips throughout Colorado with my wife to explore historical sites and am a history buff through and through.  My two rambunctious cats, painting, gaming, swimming, dancing just for fun, and hiking are some of the other things that get me excited.  

I cannot wait to share this amazing ed-venture with you all this year as a proud new crew member. Cheers!