About Mrs. Slezinger

I have been teaching in LAUSD since 1990. I have a general education credential and a special education credential. I have taught students with Autism, worked as an Inclusion Facilitator, taught 5th grade at Welby Way for 10 years, 4th grade for 2 years, and am now happily back in 5th grade! Call me crazy, but I love 5th grade!

My goal is to give every student an opportunity to learn in a positive, nurturing classroom environment where they are comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions. I have a strong background in positive behavior support and feel very strongly that children learn best in an environment they have control over and one where they have taken an active role in the     creation of the system. Since lifelong success depends, in part, on self discipline, our class develops together classroom rules (Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, with Be Thankful and Be A Scholar added in school wide this year) It is based on positive rewards and has natural consequences built in.

When I am not teaching, I love spending time with my family and friends. I have four children. I used to spend my weekends watching my kids participate in sporting events, from soccer, basketball, baseball, and softball to pole vault and high jump, but all of my children are grown now. My 28 year old daughter, Hailey graduated from UCLA in June, 2012, served in the Peace Corps, Ethiopia where she lived in a VERY small town called Bele, Ethiopia as an English Teacher Trainer. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit her in the summer of 2014! She graduated with a Masters from NYU in May, 2017 and has also taught in Kenya and China! My 26 year old son, Porter, graduated for Cal, Berkeley in May, 2013 and just moved to New York with his girlfriend, Alyx! She graduated from Columbia in May, 2017 and he works for CBS as a yield analyst. My 24 year old daughter, Makenna graduated from UC Santa Cruz in June, 2014! She has an amazing job as a community manager at FICO in San Jose, and lives in Palo Alto, California with her boyfriend, Nathaniel, who is a LiDAR engineer for WAYMO. My other 28 year old daughter, Kaleigh graduated from CSUN in May, 2014 with a BA in Movie and Television and is working for a Post Production Company in Van Nuys! I am very proud of my kids!  I am pretty lucky! It is very quiet around our house now, so I am trying to find a new hobby. I tried stained glass, and now want to try stone sculpturing!


My Amazing Family

My husband, John and me

Being "photo bombed" by an elephant in the Serengeti, Tanzania

My favorite city!

On a gondola!

They grow up so quickly...

My silly family!

My FUN co-workers

I love to entertain and present food in beautiful ways!





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