LYNNE BEACHNER, PhD, is principal of St. Francis Xavier School (SFX), in Kansas City, MO, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Education, Rockhurst University (RU). In 1998, St. Francis Xavier School and Rockhurst University entered into a formal partnership to strengthen the curricular offerings at SFX and enhance the training of preservice teachers at Rockhurst. SFX is located across the street from RU so the sharing of resources and staff has been an exciting venture.
ANOLA PICKETT is an educator and author. She holds a BA in English from Webster University and an MEd in Inner City Studies from Northeastern Illinois University. After teaching for more than 20 years in the preschool through college levels, she is currently the librarian at St. Francis Xavier School in Kansas City, MO. Her publication credits include Old Enough for Magic, a HarperCollins “I Can Read” book, and more than 50 stories, articles, and poems in magazines and newspapers.
Gwen Doty, a twenty-year veteran in the field of education, conducts seminars throughout the country with the goal of inspiring teachers to connect with their students by integrating emotional and social components into academic lessons.
Susan D. Peterson, Ph.D. is currently the Director of the Center for Academic Excellence at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. She has written and received numerous grants and served on grant-writing teams for school and nonprofit agencies. She conducts in-service sessions for educators and others about grant writing—specifically, how to make use of the internet to research funding sources, data, and grant-writing tips.
Sharon Crawford Hatton has been a teacher of writing and English for more than twenty years, with most of the last ten years as a consultant and advisor on writing. A long-time member of the Advisory Board of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, and a member of Advisory Board of the Bluegrass Writing Project since 1994, Hatton is currently a curriculum and assessment coordinator at the elementary school level.
Pam Leneave Ladd has been active in literacy and writing programs for many years, including work as a P–12 consultant with the esteemed Kentucky Writing Program from 1990 to 1999. Currently a K–6 writing consultant for Cooper-Whiteside Elementary School in Paducah, Kentucky, Ladd is also the owner of Writing Connections, Inc., an educational consulting firm that promotes best practice teaching and curriculum development, especially as it relates to reading and writing integration.