Tamara Wharton - Spalding Certified Teacher Instructor
Tamara Wharton is a native of Ralston, Nebraska who has spent the past 30 plus years in education. She attended Ralston Public Schools and graduated from Ralston High School in 1987. She earned her teaching degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1992 and began teaching in the Omaha Public School District in the fall of 1992. In 1998 she earned her Masters of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Urban Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. During her 22 years with OPS, Mrs. Wharton spent 1 year teaching at Kellom Elementary, 3 years at Druid Hill Elementary and her last 18 years in the Omaha Public School District at Skinner Magnet Center.
During the course of her teaching career Tamara has taught kindergarten and first grade, served as a grade level leader, Instructional Learning Team Leader, member of the Safe and Secure Schools team, and a volunteer tutor. Tamara has always believed strongly in the value of integrating arts in the classroom. Several of her classrooms participated in UNO residencies with Josie Metal Corbin. Tamara has participated in Schools Transformed Through the Arts (STart), a project that examined issues related to making meaningful study in the arts integral to a child’s education. More recently, she participated in Arts LINC (Arts & Literature Integrated in Nebraska & California). This federally funded research project investigated how visual art and music could be integrated with literature and language development to increase student achievement. Tamara also co-authored an article in the Early Childhood Education Journal titled Learning About Culture Through Dance in Kindergarten Classrooms.
Tamara started at Nelson Mandela Elementary as a kindergarten teacher. She served in that role for two years. After several years of experience and training she became a Spalding coach and then Spalding Certified Teacher Instructor. This allowed her to take on a dual role as kindergarten classroom teacher and Spalding coach for the Nelson Mandela team. Tamara has sinced moved out of the classroom into the role of Literacy & Spalding coach. In addition to the role of Literacy & Spalding coach, Tamara provides reading support for scholars.
