change in the works

One of our own is starting an admin program this fall.

When I went into teaching I never would have figured myself as the guy in the principal’s office, but as the years have gone by a lot of the people I work with have said that they could see me doing it. My work with the Association has shown me, too, that the best way to represent your school is to have a seat at the table, and I’m hoping that I can do a lot of good for my school and my kids by taking that next step.

Don't worry, Ryan. Even if you cross over to the Dark Side, you can still blog here.

change in scenery

Our very own Science Goddess has moved. Update your links accordingly. Update 6/9: It's moved again. The current link is the right link.

Meet the Members: The Science Goddess

The Science Goddess is currently finishing up her 16th year as an educator in the public school system. She started life as a $20 Canadian government surplus baby and then grew up in Texas. After graduating from UT Austin, she turned down a stint in the first group of Teach for America in order to just get on with it and get a certificate. Her official teaching career began in Carlsbad, NM, where she taught in the state's largest junior high for five years before finding sanctuary in a high school in western Washington.

This year is her first year out of the classroom as a full-time supporting staff member for beginning teachers and all k-12 science teachers. She is knee-deep in earning her EdD in Teacher Leadership and is looking forward to a return to the junior high arena as an instructional coach beginning in the fall of 2007.

When she's not writing about herself in the third person, The Science Goddess can be found working in her garden (no Freudian pun intended), enjoying a frosty beverage with friends, or furiously pondering her upcoming dissertation. Feel free to stop by her blog (What It's Like on the Inside) for more musings on life inside---and outside---the classroom.

meet the members of Washington Teachers: Jeff Nusser

Jeff Nusser teaches journalism and English/U.S. History at Emerald Ridge High School. He graduated from Washington State University with a journalism degree from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication in 1999. Then, after a two-year stint as a sports journalist and a one-year stint as an unemployed pickup basketball player, earned his Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Puget Sound and has been a teacher ever since.

Unlike Jim, Jeff is largely unaware of most political activities in the state of Washington -- that's why he reads Jim's edublog, 5/17. However, he's passionate about kids and teaching -- especially when it comes to student journalism education and student free expression rights -- and figures that's qualification enough to be here.

In his spare time, Jeff enjoys all things sports: playing them, watching them, reading about them, and writing about them on one of his other blogs, Hangin With The Nuss. He also is passionate about working on behalf of student journalists in the state, as evidenced by his involvement in the Washington Journalism Education Association, where he is the current chair of the Administrator of the Year award and administrator/writer for the WJEA blog.

His wife, Sarah, is an amazing woman who actually has no knowledge of her husband's participation in Washington Teachers, because she'd probably kill him if she knew he volunteered to write for another blog. He also has a three-month-old son, Joshua.

meet the members of Washington Teachers: Jim Anderson

Jim Anderson teaches English and coaches Speech and Debate at Capital High School. He graduated from a tiny university in Texas with a B.A. in English, and received his Master in Teaching from The Evergreen State College.

Jim dabbles in union activities and state politics, and plans to increase his political involvement once finished with National Board certification. Elsewhere, he blogs educationally at 5/17, eclectically and personally at decorabilia, and fashionably at Mr. A's world of tacky ties. His wife Melissa also blogs. The two are perhaps the nerdiest couple in the world.