Impact

Educators share their feedback on their work with Stacey:

Teachers/Coaches:

    • "When I heard I'd have the opportunity to work with a 'professional literacy consultant' during my writing workshop, I was both excited and extremely nervous. As teachers, we tend to strive for perfection and I didn't want a professional to see me as 'doing it wrong!' However, Stacey immediately put me at ease. Never once did I feel judged or ever feel I was inadequate. Instead, I felt empowered to take risks and try new things. Working with Stacey allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and explore resources and strategies I hadn't thought of before. It was rewarding working with her." --Sarah Columbus, 5th Grade Teacher, New Bloomfield, PA

    • "Stacey supported me through explicit teaching, co-teaching, email, and telephone discussions when she supported me -- as a consultant – during my second year of teaching writing workshop. I found Stacey to be extremely professional, but yet, approachable. During Stacey’s presentations about writing workshop, she helped me understand how I could apply the techniques in my own classroom. Stacey would use mentor texts to explicitly show how authors used structure, word choice, and expressed thoughts. I applied the strategies immediately in my writing workshop and saw many students soar by taking risks in their own writing. In addition, I was challenged to set goals with my students me. Having around 75 students and setting writing goals was overwhelming, but Stacey supported me through the entire process. Finally, when Stacey sat next to me during a writing conference with students, she would also voice-over so I could hear how she approached students. Stacey Shubitz was not only a consultant in my school district, but she was also like a graduate professor and most definitely, a mentor." --Angela Doland, Reading Specialist (former 5th Grade Teacher), Boiling Springs, PA

    • "Stacey worked consistently to design instruction that reflected her keen understanding of student needs and strengths. Refusing to go along with the common conception that teaching children, especially those who are disadvantaged in the classroom, is solely about identifying what they lack and struggle with, Stacey worked hard to recognized students' strengths and to scaffold instruction appropriately from there." --Professor Grace Enriquez, Lesley University (formerly of Teachers College at Columbia University)

    • "Stacey taught us that a teacher's writing toolkit begins with an authentic piece of writing. She initiated a writer's workshop for the teachers, and our work was to create an original mentor text. In doing this work, we were able to experience what we hope to create for students -- a highly engaging writing workshop where everyone is encouraged and valued." --Jennifer Hayhurst, K-3 Literacy Coach, East Patchogue, NY

    • "Over the past year, Ms. Shubitz re-energized our teachers' approach to writing instruction. Her direction, modeling, and coaching raised the rigor of our standards for students' written work to be more in line with the Common Core Standards. She provided practical and creative suggestions for how to implement writing into teachers' classrooms and instructed brand new teachers on how to get started with utilizing the workshop model. Her work has been invaluable to our district at both the elementary and intermediate levels." --Dr. Aileen Hower, Graduate Program Coordinator for the M.Ed. in Language and Literacy at Millersville University (formerly of of South Western School District)

    • "Stacey came to our district to help us move forward in our implementation of writing workshop. Specifically, she provided professional development on conferring with writers. She tailored PD to where we were in the process and took into consideration our prior work. The PD was exactly what we needed at the right time. Stacey provided very practical resources and tools for conferring with writers so that teachers understood the different kinds of conferences that are possible and how to conduct them. Her time with us was very motivating and helped teachers feel excited to try some new techniques. Stacey also offered ongoing support through email and has already provided further guidance and resources. Having Stacey work with us was so valuable in our progress toward improving literacy instruction." --Erin Killeen, K-8 Literacy Specialist, Stow, OH

    • "Stacey created a beautiful balance between strong graduate school learning and authentic classroom application. After taking her course, I feel like I have so many more tools and strategies I can use to teach writing units of study. I appreciate the time Stacey spent providing specific feedback, summarizing our class's collaborative learning, and pointing us toward great writing resources." --Crystal Krippaehne, Second Grade Teacher, Seattle, WA

    • "Stacey Shubitz is highly organized and prepared in her presentations and delivery. Her expertise and passion about writing instruction is apparent in her professionalism and teaching engagements. Our students learned more in-depth information about the importance of conferring with writers during an evening seminar. Stacey's dedication to the field of literacy education remains impressive." --Dr. Mary Napoli, Associate Professor of Reading and Children's Literature

    • "When I read Stacey’s book, Craft Moves, I knew the teachers in our district needed the opportunity to learn from her in person. In 2017, she came to our district and worked through the process of writing a personal essay with our fourth-grade teachers. Stacey’s explanations and modeling, along with guided teacher writing, inspired our teachers to change their classroom practices immediately. The requests to continue to learn from Stacey were so numerous and enthusiastic that our district invited Stacey to return and work with all of our second through fifth grade writing teachers and coaches during our Fall 2018 staff development week. Stacey’s insight on analyzing an essay to determine its qualities and applying those qualities in their own writing, as well as their students’ writing, was eye-opening for our teachers. In addition, her information on flash drafting led our teachers to a whole new way of idea development. Stacey’s support in growing our writing teachers’ knowledge and expertise has been of tremendous value as we continue to strengthen our writing program." --Gaye Stuchly, District Writing Coach for Grades 2-5, Houston, TX

    • "Stacey inspired me to be a better teacher. She is intelligent, thoughtful, organized, and willing to go the extra mile to help energize workshop participants. She is approachable and understands the different levels of knowledge of her audience. I appreciate the vast amount of information that she shared during her presentation." --Cindy Sweeney, Kindergarten Teacher, Schererville, IN

    • "Stacey brings her wealth of strategies and diverse knowledge base to her teaching for graduate student teachers. It was wonderful to belong to a world of possibilities and invitations to learn for the benefit of my students. I appreciate her individualization and support of so many varied teaching needs and scenarios. Thank you for developing my strategies as a teacher and bringing out my own writing voice; it has supported my growth immensely." --Christi Williams, Second Grade Teacher, Boston, MA

Former Colleagues/Supervisors:

  • "Stacey's classroom is highly organized, well-structured, and characterized by deep respect for the students. Her rapport with students is remarkable. She has connected with students with a wide range of learning styles as well as some with significant social and emotional challenges. She is an exemplar in classroom management, pacing her instruction to keep her diverse range of learners engaged." --Meg O'Leary and Sarah Friedman, Co-Directors of The Learning Community: A Public Charter School

  • "Stacey brings to her work creativity, a strong work ethic, a collaborative spirit, and high expectations for herself and students. She diligently works to create a classroom environment with academic rigor that also allows students to succeed." --Abigail Wilson, Director of Instruction at The Learning Community: A Public Charter School

  • "Ms. Shubitz was a teacher who took her work seriously. She always came to school prepared and eager to start the school day. She was well organized and made sure to follow through with the major facets of her lessons. Her students responded and participated in class discussions, activities, and projects." --Dimitres Pantelidis, Principal of P.S. 171