How this all started…

One cold February morning, I walked out and found my car had a flat tire. After a few minutes of panic, and then a few more minutes of shuffling stuff from car to car, we came up with a plan to get all of us where we needed to be with one car; we’d deal with the flat tire later.

That afternoon, after struggling to get the jack and other tools out of the trunk (we had to watch a YouTube video), referring to owner’s manuals, and jumping up and down on the wrench to get the lug nuts off (unsuccessfully), I remembered we had AAA. Fifteen minutes later, the mechanic was kicking our tools out of the way, and using his power tools and expertise to remove the nail and fix the tire, saving us hours of dirty, physical labor and even more emotional frustration.

What does that have to do with this blog? My job as the literacy coach at my high school is to help teachers, just like AAA helps motorists. Most teachers have the skills and strategies we need to get us from here to there, but sometimes we need a little help to fine-tune a lesson, a map from our essential question to our assessment, or a little inspiration to recharge our batteries. Through this blog, I want to provide teachers with their own version of AAA Roadside Assistance. My goal is to provide short, informative posts to inspire and assist teachers of all secondary school classes, with an emphasis on reading and writing.  I’ll hope you’ll join me for ride!

June 2022 – UPDATE

Seven years and 60 blog posts later, I’m starting to realize that my posts fall into a couple of categories–strategies for saving time, improving our craft through professional development, and resources teachers can use in their classrooms. The remainder of my summer will be spent reorganizing the presentation of these ideas on this site, and adding to them. Please check back regularly for updates (or follow the blog) to this new and improved resource. In the meantime, click on the images below to learn more.

And a little about me…

I began my teaching career in 1993 and have taught English and reading in middle school, high school, and junior college. Since 2010, I’ve served as the literacy coach in a large public high school, supporting teachers in all content areas.

Outside of school, I have embraced the role of soccer-mom and relish the time on the sidelines with my husband, cheering on our daughter.