about me.
I’m a tech-loving, high school English teacher whose mission is to help students rediscover their love of reading. Even after 30 years, I’m still passionate about the classroom–as a teacher & a Lifelong Learner.
my approach to writing.
In many ways, teachers are like coaches. And because I’ve been with the franchise close to thirty seasons (even though I’m only 25 😬), I’ve learned so much along the way. Here are five of my key plays that inform how I approach writing instruction in the classroom.
my pledge to students.
Before I can ask certain things from my students, I need to make some promises of my own. The first assignment every year begins with a pledge. I share my own list of commitments with the students, and then they publish their own pledge to me.
the gratitude project (2025).
Eight years ago now, during Thanksgiving week, I began assigning what I lovingly call “The Gratitude Project.” Essentially, I forced my students–and myself–to reflect on the Good in our lives in the midst of all of the Bad. And it quickly became one of…
when numbahs don’t lie (2024-5).
Students can’t be reduced to a number. They can’t be defined by their results on a common assessment, reduced to where they fall on a state test, nor limited by their SAT/ACT scores. However, sometimes numbers don’t lie. With a towering goal of helping students fall…
our breakup letters to 2024
What started as a way to process a tough season–2020 and its Bait-and-Switch of a cousin 2021, the Break-Up Letter has become an annual mainstay in my Creative Writing I and II courses. The assignment has been the same over the last five years:…
WHERE OTHERS GO
THE LIFELONG LEARNER 