About the Authors

Larry Ferlazzo teaches English and social studies to English language learners and mainstream students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He has written three previous books: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers to Classroom Challenges; English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work; and Building Parent Engagement in Schools (with co-author Lorie Hammond).

He has won numerous awards, including the Leadership for a Changing World Award from the Ford Foundation, and was the grand prize winner of the International Reading Association Award for Technology and Reading.

He writes a popular education blog at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org and writes a weekly teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher. His articles on education policy regularly appear in the Washington Post and the Huffington Post. In addition, his work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, ASCD Educational Leadership, Social Policy, and Language Magazine.

Ferlazzo was a community organizer for nineteen years prior to becoming a public school teacher. He is married and has three children and two grandchildren.

 

Katie Hull Sypnieski has taught English learners of all levels for fifteen years in the Sacramento City Unified School District. She has served as a teaching consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at UC Davis for the past ten years and as a district lead trainer for the WRITE Institute.

She is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network and has published articles in Education Week Teacher.

Sypnieski currently teaches English and ELD at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. She is married and has three children.