https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9417-2385
Who I am:
I taught grades K, 1, 3, and 4 for 13 years in the New York City public schools. In 1996-97, I was the featured teacher in a year-long series of articles in The New York Times called “Class 3-223: Mr. Kesler’s Struggle," by reporter Jacques Steinberg (nine articles in total!). In 1998, I received the prestigious Bank Street College Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award. In 2001, I earned my National Board of Professional Teaching Standards license as a middle grades generalist. In the fall of 2001, I left the classroom and worked as a staff developer for the Reading and Writing Project of Teachers College until 2007. During this time, I also completed my doctoral degree in Curriculum and Teaching. I was a contributing author of Raising the Quality of Personal Narratives (Heinemann, 2006).
In the fall, 2007, I joined the Elementary and Early Childhood Department of Queens College of the City University of New York. I am a professor, focusing in literacy education. I currently serve as departmental Chairperson. I teach courses in literacy and children's literature to both undergraduate and Masters degree pre-service and in-service students. Check out my book for teachers and teacher educators, The Reader Response Notebook: Teaching Towards Agency, Autonomy, and Accountability (NCTE, 2018). My articles have appeared in Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, the Elementary School Journal, the Journal of Literacy Research, Reading and Writing Quarterly, and Children's Literature in Education, among other journals. I continue to do staff development, teach institutes, and give keynote speeches as a literacy consultant in schools around the country.
In the fall, 2007, I joined the Elementary and Early Childhood Department of Queens College of the City University of New York. I am a professor, focusing in literacy education. I currently serve as departmental Chairperson. I teach courses in literacy and children's literature to both undergraduate and Masters degree pre-service and in-service students. Check out my book for teachers and teacher educators, The Reader Response Notebook: Teaching Towards Agency, Autonomy, and Accountability (NCTE, 2018). My articles have appeared in Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, the Elementary School Journal, the Journal of Literacy Research, Reading and Writing Quarterly, and Children's Literature in Education, among other journals. I continue to do staff development, teach institutes, and give keynote speeches as a literacy consultant in schools around the country.
