Category Archives: High School

March 5, 2024

American Embassy School – New Delhi

The American Embassy School in New Delhi walks the walk. Enriched by Diversity is not just a slogan on the high school building it’s interwoven within the fabric of the school. We had a wonderful two weeks working with teachers and students from pre-K through 12th grade. Librarians extraordinaire, Dr. Chris Fazenbaker and Wendy Guyer […]


February 20, 2020

Osborne Andrews Academy

4.0 GPAs are a dime a dozen. Okay that’s a little inflammatory but the sentiment holds true. The admission process for colleges and universities has become tougher and tougher. With AP and IB classes and the extra emphasis toward college ready students the tip top of the crop is getting more and more crowded. So, […]


August 18, 2019

I know what you did last Summer.

Here comes another school year. How was your summer? Sara and I kept busy paying visits to educators across the country. We worked with principals In Ohio and Utah – giving keynotes and breakout sessions at their annual conferences – we unfortunately did not visit Iowa – and were therefor unable to claim the 4-letter […]


April 26, 2019

Singapore American School

It’s like New York City dipped in bleach. That’s how I describe Singapore when I am asked. Sara and I have a deep fondness and admiration for the city and the school there where we have spent so much time. Singapore American School truly is one of the elite educational institutions on the planet and […]


March 26, 2019

Carol Morgan School Santo Domingo DR

Head to the Caribbean in the middle of march from Cleveland? Why yes, thank you. Sara and I brought our style of writing instruction to the Dominican Republic for the first time. It was great to be working overseas with absolutely no jet-lag! It was also great to be working with such enthusiastic teachers and […]


March 12, 2019

Michigan Reading Association ’19, Grand Rapids, MI

So, Sara and I slept in the same bed as the President of France. Well maybe not the exact same bed – he did stay in the same room 38 years earlier they’ve probably replaced the mattress since then. Michigan Reading always treats us like we’re actually important, but they went out of their way […]


March 6, 2019

Escola Americana de Campinas – Campinas, Brazil

Nobody told us the wheels were going to fall off of the plane in Amsterdam. Hopping a plane from Istanbul to Brazil is not the most direct way to get Campinas – but, it’s the route we accepted. Here’s where being a frequent flier comes in handy – we were able to rebook our flights […]


March 6, 2019

ENKA International School, Istanbul

Our contact in Istanbul – George the librarian was one of the most thorough poet wranglers we have worked with in a long time. He had everything spinning in time with the whirling serenity of the Dervishes we saw turn-tabling just before we began our week at ENKA International School. Celebrating our love of reading […]


January 31, 2019

Pre-write to get it right – GO Sheets.

Sara and I are very proud of our new PD book From Striving to Thriving Writers: Strategies That Jump-Start Writing. And, we are more than humbled that one of our biggest influences on our teaching styles, Stephanie Harvey, has made significant contributions to the book. We feel that our philosophies meld nicely. I have attended […]


January 21, 2019

Dreaming BIG and Small – 6 broken rules.

  Poets have always been trouble makers – in many places they have been arrested for stirring the pot a little too vigorously – or in the “wrong” direction. But – even poets can be guilty of staying inside their safe boxes. Whether that box be the safety of tenured academia or a local “scene” […]


Testimonials

“Sara and Michael bring infectious energy and joy leavened with deep knowledge of best practices in literacy to their work with children and teachers.” Ellin Keene – Author of Mosaic of Thought and The Teacher You Want to Be
“Sara and Michael bring magic, and a contagious love of words to both students and teachers alike!” Georgia Heard - Author of Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School More testimonials...