Hello! My name is Lori Bardwell and I am super excited to be a part of the Chickasaw family. I am thrilled to be your new School Counselor! This will be a fantastic year or growth and us getting to know one another. I hope to bring many fun and exciting guidance lessons to the students to help promote social and emotional skills as well as having a positive mindset.

I was born in Kenosha, WI and I am the youngest of three girls. I have two older sisters, Carmen and Yvette whom are both my mentors and SHEROS. My parents still reside in Wisconsin and are also my heroes. 

I attended college in Milwaukee, WI at Springfield College receiving my BS in Criminal Justice as I truly wanted to be a Homicide/Forensic Investigator.  After graduating I moved to South Florida using my license as a Travel Agent working for a company call Dive South Ocean. There I sold Scuba Dive excursions working between the offices in South Florida and Nassau Bahamas. While doing that I worked towards getting certified with the Department of Children and Families as a Child Protect Agent in Miami and Ft Lauderdale areas. I worked with that department for 4 years, then became certified and placed on the state license registry to become a Licensed Mental Health Therapist. I serviced adolescents between the ages of 5-20 that were dually diagnosed with Mental Health and Substance Abuse. I worked as a therapist for 5 year before returning to the classroom.

I had the pleasure of teaching abroad again traveling to Madinate Zayed, UAE, (Abu Dhabi) where I taught 4th grade Boys for 2 1/2 years. I also taught in Puerto Rico and Guam. My current areas of certification are in Elementary Education K-6, Pre K-3, ESE (Exceptional Student Education-SPED) Pre K-12, Guidance & Counseling Pre K-12, and I am ESOL (English As a Second Language) Pre K-12 Endorsed. I have taught in the areas of Kindergarten, 1st grade, 4th grade, 6th, 7th, and 8th, grade Resource ELA, School Counseling and being the 6th grade SPED Case Manager.

I am engaged to my HIM (Heaven/Happiness In Me) DeJuan. We have been childhood friends since Kindergarten and lost contact with each other, but thanks to the wonderful world of social media, we reconnected two years ago.

A few of my favorites:

Favorite Colors- Purple, Orange, and Blue

Favorite Seasons- Spring and Fall

Favorite Foods- Mexican and Italian

Favorite Drinks- Water and Tea (hot and cold)

Favorite Sport- Basketball

Favorite Animal-Dogs

Favorite Quote: "Life isn't waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to dance in the rain." Unknown