Hello, my name is Andrew Karpinko and I teach fifth grade ELA at Soddy Elementary. I live in Soddy Daisy, TN with my wife and two children. Both of my kids attend Soddy Elementary because it is such an amazing school. I am originally from Central New York. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Ecology & Evolution with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. I then earned my Masters in Teaching from SUNY Oswego.
After living in Buffalo, NY for several years, we moved to the Chattanooga area in the summer of 2015. I taught fourth grade ELA at Lakeside Academy during the 2015-16 & 2016-17 school years. My first school year at Soddy Elementary was 2017-2018 as a self contained fourth grade teacher. 2018-2019 I was a fourth & fifth grade ELA teacher. From 2019-2021 I taught fourth grade ELA. The 2021-2022 school year was my first year exclusively teaching fifth grade ELA.
I love teaching and watching students grow throughout the year. I like to have a lot of fun in my class, but also do my best to really push the kids to reach their full potential.
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family (cooking, swimming, trucking my kids all over town for their sports), and coaching lacrosse.