Welcome to Team 3N (3rd grade) at Pleasant Hill Elementary!
My name is Michelle Nelson, I reside in Des Moines with my husband Jim O’Brien and chocolate Labrador mLee. We are blessed to be near our children and grandchildren.
I have an elementary education degree and reading endorsement from Buena Vista University, as well as graduate credits from Kaplan, Morningside, and Drake Universities. 2019-2020 represents my 19th year as an educator!
Our classroom is a community of caring, respectful, and responsible learners: Taking risks, making mistakes, and sharing while learning both independently and collaboratively is expected. Please review and sign your child’s planner daily; reminders and homework will be notated. If you have any questions and/or concerns, please contact me directly via michelle.nelson@dmschools.org or 515.242.8432.
Pleasant Hill Elementary is an exceptional school community! Join us in celebrating your child’s academic and social-emotional growth.
I graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa with a BA in Elementary Education and endorsements in reading and special education. I taught third grade for four years in Manning, Iowa, and five years of fourth grade at Northwest Elementary in Ankeny, Iowa, before becoming a stay-at-home mom and Children’s Ministry Director at NewLife Church in the summer of 2008. I came back to teaching again in the fall of 2013 as the part-time interventionist here at Pleasant Hill Elementary. I returned to the classroom full-time as a third grade teacher in the fall of 2015. I’m looking forward to my fifth year teaching third grade at Pleasant Hill Elementary.
My husband, Scott, and I live in Altoona with our kids, John and Emma. John is in ninth grade at SEP. Emma is in sixth grade at SEP. It’s our first year without one of our kids in school with us! We have lots of fun camping, riding bikes, reading, playing games and going to Adventureland. I also enjoy watching the kids in their extra-curricular activities like chorus, band (including marching band), baseball and dance.