"Hello there! I'm Ms. Stevens, and I have had the fortune of teaching 6th and 7th grade English at an independent school for over 20 years. I love the autonomy of creating my own lessons and the small class sizes that an independent school affords. I received a B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College, a women's college in Massachusetts, and I was always impressed with the unique ways professors would ask us to engage with literature. My college experience continues to influence how I teach today.

I've also had the fortune of attending Harvard's Project Zero, whose mission is to "nurture human potential...in all human beings." This mission guides my teaching because I believe all humans possess the potential to learn English and feel successful with reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. My job is to find the right way to support a learner, in whatever way that fits him or her best. When I help students find or comprehend books that they absolutely love or when a student is so proud of what they've written that they can hardly wait to share it with me, that energizes me. Teaching is really about the personal connections I make with students so they feel safe and respected. The ability to read my students’ emotions and understand their personalities and learning styles is what fuels my passion for teaching." less...