This is a team of educators who specialize in the art of teaching.
Danielle Moore began her teaching career almost 20 years ago at a Title I school in Long Beach, California. Her desire to ensure the academic success of her diverse students, under challenging circumstances, continues to drive her work today as an independent consultant. Her experiences as a mentor teacher for the Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching and as a facilitator for the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Math Project have enabled her to support teachers in understanding the diverse needs of their students and the mathematical content and instructional practices needed to ensure access and equity for all learners. Danielle has written publications such as the Heinemann blog and is currently writing a book with Sue O’connell on the use of literacy in the mathematics classroom, to be published by Heinemann in 2021 .
Renee Houser is a literacy consultant and co-author of the What Do I Teach Readers Tomorrow series of teacher resource books. Previously, Renee taught in the New York City public school system, worked as a staff developer at the Reading and Writing Project and as an adjunct professor at Teacher’s College (both at Columbia University) and co-founded Growing Educators, a literacy consulting company in Los Angeles, CA. Now living in North Carolina, Renee has started a new literacy consulting practice, Read.Write.Think. with Renee and is excited about her latest project, the Teacher’s Toolkit for Independent Reading in collaboration with long time friend and colleague, Gravity Goldberg. She holds master’s degrees from both Old Dominion University and Fordham University and is currently studying the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood through the University of California Los Angeles.
Erin Donelson is a literacy consultant from Los Angeles, CA. For nearly a decade, she has been supporting educators, nationally and internationally, in their classrooms with literacy instruction and curriculum development. She has also been a teacher and literacy coach in the Washington, DC and Los Angeles areas. Erin has a master’s degree from The George Washington University. In her spare time, you will find her surfing up and down the California coast.
Jodi Manby currently works for The Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching, a non-profit focused on supporting teacher development. She also partners with The UCLA Math Project and the LAUSD action research project. Jodi spent the first thirteen years of her career in primary classrooms in urban Los Angeles. From there, she became a staff developer with Growing Educators where she had the opportunity to support teachers in the study of reading, writing, and mathematics. Jodi received her Master's degree from UCLA with a focus in Social Justice. She is passionate about fostering learning communities that are around voice and choice, fostering agentive problem-solvers within a community that honors everyone’s story.
Jamaica Ross has been teaching in the Long Beach Unified School District for 19 years. Originally from Northern California, she completed her undergraduate and credential work at Dominican University in San Rafael before moving to Southern California to begin her teaching career. While teaching, Jamaica obtained her Masters in Educational Leadership and Administrative Credential from California State University at Fullerton. In addition to these degrees, she is a National Board Certified teacher. In her years teaching, Jamaica has taught grades 2-5. She has taken on many leadership roles at her various school sites. Jamaica took a 1-year leave to work as a Literacy Consultant where she was able to work across the country supporting teachers in Balanced Literacy Instruction. Lastly, and most formatively, Jamaica is a child-centered teacher. All that she does in the classroom, from flexible seating to social justice, is done to provide a safe and nurturing space where children have choice, voice, and develop the agency they will need going forward into their futures. Jamaica believes that all humans should see their authentic selves in the spaces they exist within. It is from this stance that she creates lessons that are inclusive and that stretch the thinking of all the people that come in contact with her instructional practices.
I thought I knew what good teaching was until I saw great teaching in action. I want all teachers to see what the best in education has to offer so that they in turn can bring it to their students.
Danielle Moore, Founder
