Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, taught middle and high school English in low-income schools in Amarillo, Texas for 14 years. Peeples 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.
Peeples 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, Peeples 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.