Shanna Peeples

Shanna Peeples, the 2015 USA National Teacher of the Year, took the road less travelled on the way to her classroom. She worked as a disc jockey, medical assistant, and journalist before teaching, as she says, chose her. "My students, survivors of deep and debilitating trauma, have shaped the kind of teacher I am," she says. "They have taught me to never make a promise I can't keep because so many of them already have learned to view the world through suspicious eyes. To be the best teacher to...See more

Shanna Peeples, the 2015 USA National Teacher of the Year, took the road less travelled on the way to her classroom. She worked as a disc jockey, medical assistant, and journalist before teaching, as she says, chose her. "My students, survivors of deep and debilitating trauma, have shaped the kind of teacher I am," she says. "They have taught me to never make a promise I can't keep because so many of them already have learned to view the world through suspicious eyes. To be the best teacher to them, I have to remember this and honor their background. I remember so I can gain their trust because I want them to read and write their way out of where they are." ? Shanna taught middle and high school English in low-income schools in Amarillo, Texas for 14 years. Because Amarillo is a resettlement area for refugees, students as diverse as the Karen people of Myanmar to the Bantu people of Somalia, make up classes in her former assignment at Palo Duro High School where students speak 27 languages and dialects. ? Beginning this school year, Shanna is the ELA curriculum specialist for her district where she designs professional development experiences and co-creates curriculum with more than 200 secondary English Language Arts teachers. She encourages them to be "The Lorax" for their classrooms and speak for those who have no voice in many policy making arenas: children. She believes in teacher leadership and teacher-led reform and champions that effort through her involvement with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. A former reporter for the Amarillo Globe-News, Shanna won awards for reporting on health issues, schools, and music criticism. She co-authored the book Best Lesson Series - Literature: 15 Master Teachers Share What Works. She continues to write professionally as a blogger for the Huffington Post, and as a contributor to education publications. ? She earned a bachelor's degree in English from West Texas A&M University and earned a master's degree in education from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a 2016 National Education Association Global Learning Fellow, a member of the Global Teacher Prize Academy, recipient of Texas A&M University's Outstanding Educator Award, and the Texas State Teachers Association's Instructional Advocacy Award. See less