Karen Curtis, MS, is an Associate Principal, Evergreen SD. Karen provides training in middle grade reading and writing programs under the auspices of PSU and The Innovative Northwest Teacher as well as Warner Pacific, University of Portland plus school districts Evergreen, Portland, and Centennial. With more than 20 years experience as a classroom teacher and 10 years as a Portland Public Schools district trainer, Karen has adapted her own reading and writing programs to meet state standards.
Ann Donaca-Sullivan, MEd, has taught courses through Portland State University and Concordia University as an adjunct professor for nine years. In addition, Ann is an educational consultant, a teacher candidate supervisor, and has authored books on math reinforcement. Ann lives in Portland, Oregon with her two children and husband. Teaching is her passion.
Mari Donohue, MA, is a retired teacher with 30+ years of classroom experience in grades 3-8. She provides training in middle grade literacy programs under the auspices of PSU and The Innovative Northwest Teacher as well as school districts statewide. Currently she is a Writing Scoring Director for Multnomah County and the State and provides scoring training for new teachers and school districts for the Oregon State Direct Writing Assessment.
Sabrina Flamoe, MA, has more than ten years of classroom teaching experience in both Title 1 and Non-Title 1 schools. She has enjoyed teaching grades 3rd-6th, and teaching summer school for second grade struggling readers. She is presently a Literacy Coach and Professional Development Specialist at Rowe Middle School in North Clackamas School District. Sabrina teaches workshops in her district on integration, differentiation, literacy, intervention strategies and active engagement strategies.
Julie Owens, M.Ed, is a 1st grade teacher in the Centennial School District. She has taught both at the intermediate and primary levels and has years of experience incorporating art into all areas of curriculum. Prior to teaching, Julie was a special education assistant at an alternative high school in the Centennial School District for seven years. Here, she established a stained glass program for at-risk teens. Julie served on her school’s School Wide Committee for three years. She is currently the team leader for 1st grade for Professional Learning Communities, as well as serving on the Superintendent’s Council.
Linda Greenstein, MA, has taught elementary grades for 30 years. For more than sixteen years, she has presented children's literature workshops nationwide for professional organizations, universities, educational corporations, school districts, and schools.
Kelly Hjelmeland, MAT, is an experience certified middle school art teacher. She has also studied art and painting at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland Community College, and design at Mission College in California. Kelly has been an executive board member of the Oregon Art Education Association for the past five years. She has been instrumental in organizing the OAEA’s last few fall conferences at which she has taught workshops to other art teachers. She taught middle school art with the Beaverton School district until going on sabbatical to raise her son, now a toddler.
Marilyn Hill, MS, is a retired elementary school counselor with 23 years of counseling experience. She served on the board of directors for the Helen Gordon Child Development Center and founded the Stephenson After-School Childcare Center. She has taught elementary school in Minnesota, Oregon, and England. Her experience includes involvement with parent education, behavior modification, teacher consultation, conflict resolution, group counseling and classroom management strategies.
Cynthia Khawaja, M.A.T., has over 30 years of teaching experience in foreign language and ESL in grades K-14. She is a certified GLAD and SIOP Trainer and ELL Consultant in the Centennial School District.
Jackie Knapp, MAT, completed her sixth year degree in reading gaining both a Remedial and Language Arts Certificate and a Reading and Language Arts Consultant Certificate. Jackie taught grades K, 1, 2, and 4 in Norwalk, CT and served as a reading consultant in the district. Jackie is currently a Reading Consultant in Trumbull, CT. Jackie has provided in-service and staff development in all areas of literacy at both the elementary and middle school levels.
Julie LeGrove, M.Ed, taught kindergarten for a number of years, before joining The Emerson School as a 4th-5th grade teacher five years ago. She has developed integrated curricula and project-based programs, and has worked directly with Sylvia Chard, author of Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach.
Vicki Hannah Lein, MA, Counseling, has 30 years experience in K- college classrooms. Ms. Lein is an international educational consultant, working with teachers and students in Africa, Central America, Indonesia, India, Europe, as well as many schools in the U.S. Her workshops are interactive, fun, and based on research. She specializes in creating environments that bring out the best in everyone. Her approach has won awards from the Oregon School Counseling Association and the Oregon Elementary Principals Association. In 1992 she was a Distinguished Oregon Educator and worked with the Oregon Department of Education.
Carrie McGraw, MS, is an elementary special education teacher and reading specialist with 20 years of experience teaching literacy skills to young at-risk learners. She is a committee member for the Northwest Regional Reading Recovery Conference and very involved in the planning and execution of the highly successful annual literacy conference in Portland. Ms. McGraw is also a member on the language arts curriculum committee for Centennial School District.
Mary Mitchell, MAT, has been a classroom teacher in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and instructed students in K, 5, 6. Mary has also taught adult English Language Learners ranging in age from 16 to 72 years old. She is currently an elementary school library/media specialist. Mary has taught for over 10 years in several states and has done a variety of in-service presentations for her schools and districts. She has been an adjunct instructor for PSU for six years.
Kathy Otto, M. Ed, has 23 years experience as an elementary library media specialist, currently providing library services to staff and students at Pleasant Valley Elementary in the Centennial SD. She also has experience at the public library level and as a children’s bookseller.
Ruth Peterson-Morrow, a 27-year veteran in education (19 years in the classroom, 8 years as a reading and math specialist), teaches school in Lake Oswego. This is her tenth year teaching courses through Portland State University. She has facilitated local and national workshops in the area of gender equity and behavior management. She also works as an educational consultant.
Kathy Porterfield, MEd, winner of the Milken Award, is a curriculum specialist and teacher. She has studied the New Zealand literacy model and implemented these ideas during her many years as a multi-grade classroom teacher. She teaches graduate classes in the areas of reading and writing in the middle grades and is a trained rater for the Oregon State Direct Writing Assessment.
Scott Rodman, MAT, NBCT, is an elementary school teacher at The American International School of Bucharest. He has taught fourth and fifth grades, as well as 4 – 8 grade Spanish. Scott began his teaching career as a member of Teach For America in Detroit, moved to Mexico City several years later and then accepted a teaching position in Bucharest, Romania, where he currently teaches fourth grade.
Kristin Rogers, MA, taught 5th - 8th grade in the Lake Oswego School District for over 12 years. She has taught in a straight and blended classroom at the elementary level and has taught math and electives at the junior high level. In addition, she continues to participate in a variety of national conferences and post-graduate courses relating to organization, reading, writing, technology, and reaching students with varying abilities.
Brooke Schmidt, BA, is both manager and owner of The Innovative Northwest Teacher (TINT). She has 10 years experience as a classroom teacher and extensive personal experience with authors and illustrators of children's literature, especially the Caldecott and Newbery Award winners.
Jo Sigmund, MS, has been an elementary and early childhood educator for over 20 years. Throughout this time, she has implemented project-based learning at all levels. She is also a founder of The Emerson School, a local K-5 public charter school whose program is entirely integrated and project based. She has worked directly with Sylvia Chard, one of the developers of the Project Approach philosophy, and has trained a number of elementary and early childhood teachers in this form of education. In addition, she has been a 4th-5th grade teacher at The Emerson School for the past six years.
Ashley Smith, MEd, is an elementary school teacher in the Centennial School District. She has taught at both the primary and intermediate grade levels where she has worked to promote art literacy. Ashley has been active in helping her school establish and maintain an effective PBS (Positive Behavior Support) System. She also represented her school and grade level on the district committee that worked on transition to the current state math standards and adopting new math materials. She completed her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a Reading Endorsement at Concordia University.
Anne Spady, brings 25 years of teaching experience to her classes. Her new quest is to help teachers develop a Writing Workshop with the help of Lucy Caulkins "Units of Study for Teaching Writing". Currently she is a Literacy Coach in the North Clackamas School District.
Lindy Sproul, MEd, has more than 20 years experience as a Classroom teacher in grades kindergarten through middle school and as a literacy coach. She is presently an instructional coordinator in the West Linn Wilsonville School District, is serving on several literacy committees and has served on language arts curriculum committees. She has presented and provided staff development throughout Oregon.
Tom Souter, MS, has taught elementary school for more than 20 years and graduate classes in the areas of computer technology, language arts, and character education. He earned his Masters degree at PSU and Administration Degree at Lewis & Clark. He has published curriculum guides: Critical and Selective TV Viewing, Teaching Character Education in the Elementary Grades, and Daily Character Builders.
Anne-Louise Sterry, has been a professional storyteller, singer, songwriter, and recording artist for 14 years. She has extensive experience presenting workshops across the country, and specializes in creating a positive environment where participants of all abilities are inspired.
Heidi Van der Meer, MAT, has been a classroom teacher in grades 6 and 7 for the last six years focusing on Literacy and Language Arts. Heidi has worked with her district to create district wide curriculum mapping in both Language Arts and Reading.
Cheri Weaver, MS, teaches intermediate grades in West Linn Schools. She has taught adults throughout the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii. She was Oregon's 1996 Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year.
Robert Young, MS, is an educator as well as an author. He has taught grades 2-8 for over 15 years and is currently a staff development specialist in the areas of language arts and social sciences at the Lane Education Service District in Eugene. He has published articles, short stories, plays and 15 children's books including Sports Cards, a Children's Choice award winner.
The Innovative Northwest Teacher
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