Bomer, Katherine: -

Heinemann congratulates Katherine Bomer for receiving the 2017 Outstanding Elementary Educator Award by NCTE.

Katherine Bomer, author of The Journey Is Everything, Hidden Gems, and Starting with What Students Do Best, is one of the field's most gifted writers as well as one of its most gifted teachers of writing. In more than two decades of teaching and consulting, she has used her writers' eye to focus on how craft isn't just an instructional goal but an instructional tool that allows writers to grow well beyond the range of most publicly available assessments. An internationally-known consultant and frequent keynote speaker, Katherine began her consulting career with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. In addition to Writing a Life, she is the coauthor of the Heinemann title For a Better World (with Randy Bomer) and delivers on-site PD through Heinemann Professional Development Services.

A published poet and essayist, Katherine is also coauthor (with Lucy Calkins) of A Writer's Shelf. She began over fifteen years ago as a professional developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. A classroom teacher for ten years, she now works with teachers in elementary and middle schools throughout the country. As a frequent speaker at conferences and institutes, she combines a teacher's practical advice, a writer's love of language, and a powerful plea for social justice.

Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig: - Author of Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres and co-author of Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater also writes books for children. Her titles include Forest Has a Song, Every Day Birds, Read! Read! Read!, and With My Hands, and her poems appear in many anthologies. A graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, former fifth grade teacher, and writing teacher of 20 years, Amy leads school assemblies, offers writing workshops for all ages, and speaks frequently at conferences. She makes her home in Western New York, sharing snips of life at her popular classroom blog www.poemfarm.amylv.com and on Twitter @amylvpoemfarm.