You already know from our About page that I love growing things! For the past 35 years, I have been tending lots of metaphorical gardens as:

-an elementary teacher in northeast Ohio for 15 years before being transplanted in Southeast Michigan

-a staff developer, literacy coach, and independent literacy consultant with the Bureau of Education and Research (BER), the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP-Lucy Calkins), and with many schools across the U.S. and Canada

-a mom of 3 grown children (27, 25, and 21) who are beginning to put down roots of their own across the country

My passion for learning about literacy began in earnest during my first (and almost my last) year of teaching when I realized I needed to either find another profession or learn how to teach kids to read. You can read the whole story here. That got me started on a lifelong journey. I am so happy to be able to share it with other passionate literacy teachers like you!

When I’m not teaching (or reading or writing about teaching), you can find me making a list, puttering in my garden, traveling and camping in the national parks with my husband and possibly one or more of our three children, or trying to become fluent in Italian.