Welcome to my webpage!

You've heard of a home away from home; well this will be your classroom away from the classroom.  
Find everything you need to be successful in my classes!

How to Reach Me

I'm always here!!!
*Email: clemens.d@beaconk12.org ***BEST***
*Message me on Google Classroom or Remind
*I am after school most nights until at least 3:30pm- if that doesn't work, make an appointment!

Google Classroom

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  • Go to classroom.google.com 
  • You will receive an email (at your BCSD email) with a link to sign up.
  • Please only sign up with your BCSD email address. 

About Me

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  • June 2022 concludes my 22th year teaching!
  • I have been a social studies teacher at Beacon High School since September 2001.
  • I have taught: Global I, Global II, US History, APUSH, Participation in Government, Economics, Contemporary Issues, and AIS.
  • For the 2022-2023 school year I will be teaching APUSH (which I've been teaching since 2015), Social Justice In America, and Psychology.
  • I attended Plattsburgh State University for my Bachelors Degree (Secondary Education Social Studies) and the University at Albany for my Masters (Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology).

What am I reading/listening to?

Books
  • An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz- This book takes a look at American History through the eyes of Indigenous People. 
  • Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi- This book "uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis."  It's currently available for free from Spotify as an audiobook.  
  • Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson- This book tells about the history of racism in the United States comparing it to the caste systems of India and Hitler's Germany.
Podcasts
  • Now and Then- Several of my favorite historians link current events to history!
  • Teaching Hard History- This is more for teachers than for students but it's still pretty great.  ​
  • The Daily- This podcast comes out every weekday and covers current events.  
  • My guilty pleasure podcast----Office Ladies---all about The Office tv series. I'm obsessed!