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TheApple Writers & Partners
From the Editor
TheApple has partnered with expert education professionals to bring you the best and most current information for a successful career in teaching. Read about our featured writers and partners, listed below in alphabetical order.
A + Resumes for Teachers
A+ Resumes for Teachers offers effective, confidential, certified professional resume writing for teachers, educators, corporate trainers, and administrators. College graduates, returning teachers, or career changers- even for those located around the globe. Resumes, cover letters, interview coaching, or even a philosophy of education for your teaching portfolio.
Candace Davies, President of A+ Resumes for Teachers, is a Dual-Certified Professional Resume Writer.
Aha! Process, Inc.
Founded in 1995 with one consultant and one book—Dr. Ruby K. Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty aha! Process has grown to include more than 7,000 certified trainers, a cadre of more than 75 consultant presenters, and 25 employees. This high-energy organization conducts between 800 and 1,000 seminars each year in the United States and Canada.
For more than a decade aha! Process has been committed to improving the educational and occupational lives of people in poverty with eye-opening learning opportunities—both for the poor and for those who work with them.
Click here for more information about aha! Process learning opportunities for educators.
Dr. Rebecca Bell & Grow Educational Consulting
Dr. Bell is a Licensed Educational Psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area and founder of Grow Educational Consulting. She specializes in psychoeducational assessment, play therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and student success coaching. She is the author of Notes from the School Psychologist.
Kevin Bibo
Kevin Bibo teaches high school computer multimedia in Southern California. He holds a Master’s of Education degree and is currently a teacher credential program instructor. In addition, Kevin is the author of Cal Teacher Blog.
But most importantly Kevin loves spending time with his wife and five children.
Add Kevin Bibo to your friends list.
Katt Blackwell
Katt Blackwell teaches First Year Composition in Dallas, Texas. She is currently completing coursework for her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and holds both a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. Katt is the author of Techno-Rhetoric Cafe where she spends a lot of time discussing the use of technologies in education.
Tami Brass
A 10-year veteran teacher in Minnesota, Tami has developed a unique knowledge of the state’s system of education. She’s been a leader, trainer and attendee in instructional technology conferences throughout the Minnesota region. Tami is currently a technology coordinator at SPA- supporting faculty, students and families in their use of technology. Before teaching in Minnesota, Tami taught for 5 years in Milwaukee. She has been an Apple Distinguished Educator since 2005 and writes Tech4Teaching. Click to visit Tech4Teaching.
Kelly Christopherson
Kelly has been in education for 17 years, and for the last seven years has been an administrator in a rural K-12 school. He coaches a variety of sports and teaches a variety of subjects. In addition to his school life, he is the father of seven wonderful children and blogs at KWHobbes.
ClassWish
ClassWish is a nonprofit organization that empowers parents, educators, and local communities to make a positive change in their children’s lives by providing them with the supplies they need to learn, grow and excel.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, Common Sense Media provides trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.
Lisa Cooper
Lisa Cooper has taught American History to fourth and fifth graders for the past nine years in a departmentalized setting. Using the non de plum, Elementaryhistoryteacher, she began chronicling her content knowledge, teaching strategies, and opinions online in January, 2006 at her weblog, History Is Elementary. Her article, Oh, I Love to Tell the Story best profiles Lisa’s passion for the importance of Social Studies instruction. Lisa resides in Douglasville, Georgia with her husband, two children, and a ten-toed cat that daily exhibits allusions of grandeur.
Tom DeRosa
Tom DeRosa, known to his students and colleagues as “Mr. D,” has taught middle school social studies and middle through high school math in public, charter and alternative school settings. In 2008, he published Ten Cheap Lessons: Easy, Engaging Ideas for Every Secondary Classroom, his highly adaptable teacher resource book. He continues to share ideas, inspiration and resources to help teachers on his blog I Want to Teach Forever.
Dr. Richard Felder
Dr. Richard M. Felder is the Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University. He received his BChE from City College of CUNY and his PhD from Princeton. He has contributed over 200 publications to the fields of science and engineering education.
With his wife and colleague, Dr. Rebecca Brent, he codirects the National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) and regularly offers teaching effectiveness workshops on campuses and at conferences around the world aimed at college-level instructors in engineering and the sciences.
To learn more about workshops and read about participant feedback, Click here
Education for Liberation Network
Education for Liberation Network is a national coalition of teachers, community activists, youth, researchers and parents who believe a good education should teach people—particularly low-income youth and youth of color—to understand and challenge the injustices their communities face.
Charles Fox
Charles P. Fox has been practicing law in Illinois since 1986. He graduated from IIT Chicago Kent College of Law and was an editor of the law review. He is a member of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois trial bar, and a member of the bar for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. He has tried cases and appeals in both State and Federal Court.
From 1988 to 1994, Charles was in solo practice in the area of general civil litigation. From 1994 to the present, his practice has been concentrated in the area of special education law, representing parents of children with special needs. He has very successfully advocated for parents at due process hearings, mediations, IEP meetings, and on appeals in Federal Court. Charles is also a parent of a child with special needs, and he brings the insights of a parent together with his legal expertise in pursuing his clients’ rights to a free appropriate public education. Charles currently writes at The Special Education Law Blog.
Sheila J. Harkatz
Sheila J. Harkatz was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and came to the United States in 2002. Multicultural, trilingual (Spanish, English and Hebrew), and a born-teacher, her background and experience in preschool and Primary education both in the US and Latin America make of her a sensitive and inclusive educator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and ESOL, and holds certifications in Jewish Education and as a trainer of the Department of Children and Families of South Florida. She is also a candidate for a Master’s degree in Education in Organizational Learning and Leadership. Sheila is right now employed in a school in North Miami Beach, FL teaching in 1st grade. In her spare time, she loves reading, writing Education articles and children’s stories, conducting research on Sociology of Education and critical thinking, oil painting, traveling, and practicing Yoga and meditation.
Judie Haynes
Judie Haynes, an ESL teacher from New Jersey, USA, has more than 28 years of teaching experience. In addition to her classroom work, she has authored and co-authored five books on ESL, co-written a chapter for TESOL’s Integrating Standards into Classroom Practice and am contributing a column for Essential Teacher magazine. She is also the author of EverythingESL and presents workshops to classroom teachers all over the U.S.
Pat Hensley
Pat Hensley retired after 27 years of teaching in the classroom. She currently teaches graduate courses as an adjunct instructor for Furman University. She was chosen 2006 Teacher of the Year for her school and a district Top 10 Finalist (out of 5000 teachers). She is Nationally Board Certified as an Exceptional Needs Specialist and is on the National Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children. Pat comments on education and her experiences at Successful Teaching.
Institute of Elemental Ethics & Education
The Institute of Elemental Ethics and Education is an organization with a mission: to facilitate positive, critical change in educational processes and policies in 2008 and beyond. The Institute of Elemental Ethics and Education will make every effort to raise the consciousness of its audience with regard to the positions, philosophies, perspectives, and track records of political candidates running for office with regard to issues of education. Read more about their mission.
Joanne Jacobs
Joanne Jacobs is the author of Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the Charter School That Beat the Odds. After many years as a syndicated op-ed columnist and a San Jose Mercury News editorial writer, she left newspapers to write her book, start an education blog at joannejacobs.com and freelance for newspapers, magazines, web sites and policy groups.
Read the Review Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the Charter School That Beat the Odds.
Miss.Cal.Q.L8
Miss Cal.Q.L8 is a recent college graduate and new to the blogging scene. She is currently a substitute teacher, grant writer, and tutor. This fall she will start her career as a high school math teacher teaching algebra and geometry. Miss Cal.Q.L8 loves to read and write and learning is a huge priority. She values people more because of what they’ve taught her than how they treat her. Her best advice for any teacher is to be real and make a connection with every student. Hobbies include napping, photography, texting, and of course, blogging! Her goals are to be the best teacher that has ever lived, to change the world, and to live wealthy. She also adores John Mayer and chocolate.
Kim Norman
Kim Norman is a children’s book author whose first book, Jack of All Tails, was released from Dutton in June of 2007. Kim also authors a blog listing state-by-state children’s authors and illustrators who do school visits: Author School Visits by State. Visit this great resource now.
Kate Olson
Kate Olson is a non-traditional new teacher, coming to the classroom after spending time as an accountant and a stay-at-home mother. She currently teaches Business Education in La Crosse, WI and is an online course developer and facilitator for teacher professional development at Professional Learning Board. Her current educational passion is integrating new technologies into the classroom and enjoys sharing the exciting new tools she finds with her colleagues at school and in her online personal learning network. When she’s not glued to her laptop doing geeky things like wearing a headset and recording audio for her keyboarding blog, she can be found chasing a baby and toddler around the house, running, scrapbooking, and drinking gallons of coffee. She blogs about her experiences in teaching and technology at Kate Says and blogs with her students at Keying In and Global Bloggers.
Laura Owen
Mrs. Owen is currently teaching 3rd grade at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, GA. Before moving back into the classroom, she served as the International Baccalaureate Coordinator at Jackson Elementary School, also in Atlanta. Laura has taught grades 4 and 5 in Georgia and North Carolina. She has her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Master’s degree in Gifted and Creative Education. Laura was a contributing author in the book Differentiation in Practice, Grades K-5 by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Caroline Cunningham Eidson.
Add Mrs. Owen to your friends list.
Dr. Rosanna Pittella
Rosanna Pittella, MA, PhD abd, is an ethicist who based on studies of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan, developed a unique theory of integration of ethics language and concepts with standard pedagogy that has been recently published in the Journal of Higher Education, and is the focus of her presentations to regional, national, and international audiences. Ms. Pittella has built a reputation as one who delivers practical solutions, that she freely admits are unearthed and developed with the help from the unrecognized experts in American industry, those on the ground, the voiceless staffs of the corporations she serves. The application of this methodology is at the heart of the One Voice Institute of Elemental Ethics and Education, an organization or advocacy for educators dedicated to positive changes in education, which she founded with her fellow Board members. Her goal is to document and amplify the voices of the true experts in academia, the educators themselves and assist them to integrate ethics with standard American pedagogy.
Patrick R. Riccards
Patrick Riccards is the author of Eduflack, a blog focused on the effective communication of education reform. Currently Senior Vice President of Public Affairs with Lipman Hearne Inc., Patrick’s work as a senior advisor with the National Reading Panel (1998-2002) and project director for the U.S. Department of Education’s Partnership for Reading (2002-2005) makes him one of the top education communications executives in the nation.
A former aide to members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, Patrick is a contributing author of Why Kids Can’t Read: Challenging the Status Quo in Education, published in 2006 by Rowman Littlefield Education.
Add Eduflack to your friends list
Road to Teaching
Road to Teaching is a blog for aspiring teachers to connect, share, vent, and find support. This website/blog addresses student teacher topics, provides resources, and maintains the web’s largest collection of teacher interview questions. This blog was created by Eric Hougan, a National Board Certified Teacher. Recently, Eric was awarded the 2008-9 Phi Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award. He is also the author of Road to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training, Student Teaching, and Finding a Job.
Schoodoodle
Chicago School Supply and SchooDoodle.com bring you free teacher lesson plans and educational resources. SchooDoodle offers online sales of educational materials, school supplies, and learning resources for parents, teachers and children of all ages. Our hand-selected offering of instructional resources and supplies is the most extensive in the school supply industry.
School Resources & Training Institute
School Resources & Training Institute is a division of PATC, The Public Agency Training Council. The PATC School Resource division is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive training and services available for law enforcement and school personnel.
This division was created in response to the increase in school liability and because of a need for integrating training of both law enforcement, SROs, school administrators and teachers.
SR-TI provides training, services, publications, and information to all stakeholders of school safety, security, legal and liability issues.
Visit the School Resources & Training Institute website for more information.
Nancy Sharoff
Nancy (MST, MS (Instructional Technology), SDA) grew up in Europe attending Department of Defense schools in Germany. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree she worked as an Academic Advisor for the University of Maryland, European Division. Upon completion of her MST she taught 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th/6th grade Math, and currently is the K-4 Technology Facilitator in Ellenville, New York. She went on to complete a Master’s in Instructional Technology and certification for School District Administrator. In addition to a K-12 setting, Nancy has developed and taught various workshops and graduate level courses in the areas of educational technology, as well as, reading. She has presented at local, state, national, and virtual levels. She is a Google Certified Teacher and a Discovery STAR Educator. She divides her time equally between ‘Real Life’ and ‘Second Life’.
Check out Nancy’s blog.
Add Nancy as a friend on TheApple.
D’Llysse Soleil
D’Llysse Soleil currently attends the University of Phoenix Graduate School of Psychology. She received both her bachelor’s degrees in Education (K-8) and Social Sciences at Washington State University. She specialized in At-Risk Youth, Native American Studies and Management Information Systems. She is a mother of two charming young men, an animal lover, and her hobbies include: medical research, writing, graphic design, photography, and music. D’Llysse’s goals are to write professionally and further her education by getting a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine.
So You Want to Teach
Joel is a band director in Texas. He began teaching in the 2002-2003 school year. His first two years were a self-described horrible failure. Though he knew lots of information, he did not have what it took to push him beyond that. He felt like an untapped reservoir of knowledge, with a bunch of students who didn’t like him, didn’t care what he knew, and usually liked to argue with him until they get their way.
That’s when everything changed. He resigned from that school district right before spring break and made it a personal mission to figure out how to be a great teacher.
Joel currently writes SoYouWantToTeach in an attempt to pass along his learnings to other teachers and future teachers.
TeachersCount.org
TeachersCount is a 501©(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to raise the status of the teaching profession and provide resources to the education community. Using a public service announcement national ad campaign and related initiatives, TeachersCount is working to create a permanent culture of teacher appreciation in the United States. To learn more about this website, please visit I’m Just Curious.
Kelly Tenkely
Kelly Tenkely graduated from Colorado Christian University with a Liberal Arts degree in Elementary Education. She started teaching in 2003 as a second grade teacher in a public school. In 2004 she made the switch to private school and took the only available opening as the technology teacher. Educational technology has since become her passion. She started a web site for her classroom and soon discovered that other teachers were using the site to aid technology in their classrooms.
Kelly also trains teaching staff on integrating and implementing technology into the classroom. Training teachers on the use of technology in the classroom led to her blog, ilearntechnology.com, where she blogs daily about integrating technology into the classroom simply and effectively. When she is not blogging, searching for and playing with new technology, or on theapple.com Kelly enjoys scrapbooking, cooking, and spending time with her husband and dog (Aya).
The New Teacher Resource Center
Dorit Sasson is a New York City native and freelance writer. She teaches ESL (English as a Second Language) reading and writing courses at CCAC Allegheny Community College, and is the creator of the New Teacher Resource Center.
Dorit Sasson has written articles for a variety of journals, magazines, newsletters, and ezines like Reading Today, Essential Teacher, Teacher and Principal Quarterly, the Internet TESL Journal, WAHM Online, and many others.
Dorit holds both graduate and undergraduate degrees in English literature from the University of Haifa. She successfully taught English language learners in various schools in Israel for the last eleven years and returned to live back in the States in the summer of 2007. As part of her journey, Dorit believes that every student can be motivated to succeed with the right recipe of instruction and support. She is currently at work coauthoring “Developing Literacy in K-2 English language learners through Collaboration” which is currently under discussion.
Julia G. Thompson
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Julia is the author of several books for teachers. Her newest book, First-Year Teacher’s Survival Guide, Second Edition, was released in July 2007. She is also the author of Discipline Survival Kit for the Secondary Teacher. In each of her books, Julia presents classroom-tested ideas, activities, and strategies designed to make each school day a successful one.
Purchase a book by Julia Thompson
Add Julia Thompson to your friends list.
Wilderness Classroom
Dave Freeman is the Executive Director of the Wilderness Classroom Organization. The Wilderness Classroom Organization (WCO) is a non-profit organization that strives to engage, excite, and motivate students and teachers using an interactive technology-based learning model that draws upon peoples’ innate curiosity and desire for exploration.
Utrecht
TheApple and Utrecht have an exclusive online art supply store with a vast selection to buy your favorite art products at a discount available to only TheApple members. Ground shipping is free for orders over $150.
Tim Winterview
Tim W. is a certified teacher who has taught 3rd grade, 4th grade, and gifted and talented classes. He has served on many interview committees at his school district.
Tim is the author for “Guide to Getting the Teaching Job of Your Dreams.” In this book, is everything you need to know to get the teaching job you’ve dreamed of! This eBook includes information about applying for teaching jobs, cover letters and resumes, building a teaching portfolio, and interview tips. Also, learn the 50 most commonly asked interview questions for teachers and how to answer them.
Read more about Tim’s book or purchase now.
Worksheet Library
Worksheet Library was developed and is maintained by veteran elementary teachers who have over 50 years of classroom experience. Each worksheet is developed with the goal reducing your planning time to spend more quality time with your students. Servicing K-6 teachers exclusively. Click here to visit the Worksheet Library.
*Updated 6/8/09
