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I’m so excited to introduce you to our four new blogging fellows! In the coming year, Ben, Lee, Naida and Leah will share their ideas and stories to advance conversations about what schools and teachers need to help all students succeed. Get to know the fellows:
Ben Bauer is a site director for Breakthrough Twin Cities and a law student at William Mitchell. Previously, Ben studied education at St. John's University and taught with Teach For America in Oklahoma. Having gone through both traditional and alternative licensure programs, Ben is interested in how we attract, train and retain teachers.
Lee Carlson taught high school English for over twenty years before becoming the continuing improvement specialist at Northside Elementary in St. James. Lee currently serves as a board member of Education Minnesota, the Minnesota Rural Education Association and Minnesota Minority Education Partnership. He's excited to blog about equity, teacher development and leadership.
Naida Grussing-Neitzel is an assistant principal at Valley View Middle School in Bloomington, and previously taught Spanish at Patrick Henry and Robbinsdale Cooper High Schools. Naida focuses on educational equity, excellence and achievement for all learners and is looking forward to sharing ideas on how schools can foster strong relationships—which she believes are the foundation to everything.
Leah Delia Larson is a library media specialist at the Perpich Arts High School in Golden Valley and Crosswinds Arts and Science School in Woodbury. She taught in Texas and Brooklyn before moving back home to Minnesota to complete a degree in school library media. Leah is passionate about many things, including culturally competent teaching and increasing Latino student achievement.
Our fellows will bring a variety of perspectives to the blog, all focused on advancing the conversation about Minnesota public schools. We're thrilled to have such an excellent group, and are excited to start publishing fellows' posts this week! Follow our blog and share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.