An Interview with Valerie Michaels

In this Field Team interview, get to know Valerie Michaels who serves as one of Collaborative Classroom’s Managers of Educational Partnerships in New York State.

Tell us a little about your background as an educator. What did you do before you joined Collaborative Classroom?

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. Playing school when I was young turned into babysitting and working at summer camps.

I started out my 34 years in education as a Math, Computer, and ELA teacher at a small Catholic school in Pennsylvania. From there I went to Clarion University to get my Master’s of Education in Reading and moved to Pittsburgh to teach at Aliquippa Middle School as a Title 1 reading teacher. 

After my husband and I were married, we moved closer to his family and I taught again as a Title 1 reading teacher. That led to us moving to New York State, where my family lives and I grew up. I started teaching at Newark Central School District as a reading interventionist. I was then trained in Reading Recovery. After 18 years in Reading Recovery, I transitioned into being an instructional coach for the District, specializing in Literacy K–12.  I spent 25 years at Newark and retired from there in 2023.

How did you find out about Collaborative Classroom and the Manager of Educational Partnerships role?

Newark Central School District adopted Collaborative Literacy in 2017. I came alongside teachers using Being a Writer and Being a Reader. Then I learned about SIPPS. I taught myself SIPPS and saw the impact it was having on our students. I soon became a SIPPS consultant for Collaborative Classroom and that led me to exploring the Manager of Educational Partnerships role.

Collaborative Classroom is a mission-driven nonprofit. What about our mission drew you to the organization? What’s your “why” for joining Collaborative Classroom?

Why Collaborative Classroom? I saw first-hand the power of creating independence in students.

Why Collaborative Classroom? I saw first-hand the power of creating independence in students.

For a long time, I was guiding students, not explicitly teaching them. This, in turn, impacted the student’s independence in reading. I was also seeing a decrease in the amount of time that students were talking and collaborating with each other in and out of the classroom. 

I was an Odyssey of the Mind™ coach for a few years when my own children were in school. When coaching these middle school-aged children, it was so evident that they struggled with having conversations, sharing opinions and then knowing how to disagree with each other, and all in all working together to solve problems. 

The collaboration and thinking that happens in Collaborative Classroom programs is amazing for all students.

What’s your favorite part of your role as a Manager of Educational Partnerships?

My favorite part of being the Manager of Educational Partnerships in New York State is getting to build relationships with school districts across the state. Every district is different and I am constantly learning from these amazing educators and leaders. 

My other favorite part is visiting schools and seeing the impact that Collaborative Classroom programs are having on students across the state and country. 

What are some other projects or passions in your career? 

As I stated above, I come from a reading intervention background. A passion for me in education is to close the gaps that we are seeing in foundational skills, especially in our older readers. This seems to be a pain point for many districts. I love to share my SIPPS story. 

In your role, you get to spend time in lots of different classrooms. What is something exciting or inspiring that you’re seeing out there in schools right now?

At this time, there are threeWayne Finger Lakes Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WFL BOCES) schools in New York State participating in the SEEDS of Learning Framework for PreK educators. I have been fortunate enough to be able to be a part of these trainings and meet with the teachers regularly during PLC meetings. This work at the PreK level is so exciting for districts, teachers and students. 

One final question: Reflecting on your own lived experiences as a teacher or as a student, what was one experience that was particularly memorable or impactful for you?

SIPPS impacted my life and the life of one high school student that I worked with in an immense way. I love to share his story because it has the ending that we all, as educators, want. 

My student was struggling in high school. He was not reading at grade level and this impacted all of his academics. I began working with him in the mornings, before school, using SIPPS. He made huge progress and ended up passing all of his exams to graduate from high school. He is now in college and has made the dean’s list in all of his semesters so far.