My name is Erica Hartman and I am a 6th grade Language Arts teacher in Sparta, New Jersey at Sparta Middle School. Ever since I was in first grade I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I graduated with a double major in Elementary Education and English from The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) in 2001. I started my career teaching 6th grade Language Arts and Advanced Math at Stony Brook Middle School in Branchburg, New Jersey. While surfing the web one day, I came across Sparta's web-site and saw that my middle school Language Arts teacher when I was in 6th grade  at David E. Owens Middle School in New Milford, NJ was now the principal in Sparta. I called him up and he hired me the next day. I have been at Sparta for almost 4 years where I run a learner active classroom with a heavy technology infusion. I recently won a SmartBoard through a contest in my district and am constantly amazed at what an effective tool it can be in the classroom. My husband and I welcomed our first daughter, Jaylin Harleigh on December 19, 2004 so my two big projects right know are raising her and finishing my masters in Technology Education at New Jersey City University.