Pat Schmidt has been a teacher and guide for young children of all learning styles for over thirty years. Her academic training and work experience in teaching children with learning disorders benefit even the most highly gifted students. Her empathetic understanding of different learning styles leads her to experiment with different teaching tools to elicit the best performance from each student. Pat received her certification in elementary education and a B.S. in education and history from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. She has done graduate work in education at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and at the University of Iowa. Her work experience includes teaching fifth grade at an inner city school in Milwaukee. She also taught autistic children for three years at Willowglen Academy in Plymouth, Wisconsin worked as a clinical teacher and outreach consultant for the University of Iowa Department of Child Psychiatry, and was teacher and director from 1978 - 2005 of Willowwind School. Pat was co-director of the community-wide tutoring programs at Willowwind, which were funded by grants from the Gannett Foundation and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.

I strive to infuse my students with a love of learning, which is the foundation for all that we do at Pat's Leraning Annex. This nurtures self-respect, which engenders sensitivity and curiosity that extends beyond the classroom. Being a responsible member of the community and the world as a whole is integral to my philosophy as a teacher.

The students engage in rigorous academic study, completing projects involving history, science, literature, and culture, which they share with their classmates, and the community. An example of this would be the students developing a Read-a-Thon to raise funds to help Earthquake victims in Pakastan.

To teach is to be a guide. It is to set an example. Everyday I model my own love of learning, and my own respect of humanity for my students. This inspires them to be positive role models. My vision as a teacher is to create an environment where love, dignity, and respect for the human mind, body, and heart, are cultivated.