Rosie Reid

Rosie grew up in rural Northern California; she didn’t have electricity until she was eight, the nearest stoplight was two hours’ drive, and her family didn’t always have a car, so books became her escape and her best friends. Teachers took an interest in Rosie and helped her beyond their job descriptions to be the first in her family to go to college. She became a teacher to pay this forward. She has participated in many teacher research groups that have fostered a focus on inquiry, experimentation, lifelong learning, and equity.

After becoming National Board Certified, she began working as a support provider for teachers pursuing certification at Stanford’s National Board Resource Center and within her own district. She has been actively involved in the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP) as a Teacher Consultant since 2006, working with other BAWP Teacher Consultants to improve the teaching of writing.

Rosie is an English Learner advocate. She helped form her school’s English Learner Review Team, serves as the English Learner representative on her Site Council, and is a presenter for district-wide professional development targeting the needs of English Learners. She has taught every level of high school English and English Language Development, and when teachers get together to figure out who will teach what next year, she often gets whatever’s left, because she likes it all. Her personal experience as a foster, adoptive, and biological mom of a multiracial family with a range of sexualities and academic abilities has heightened her awareness of issues of equity.

Rosie was named 2019 California Teacher of the Year and California’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year. She is available for a limited number of speaking engagements and her areas of interest include English Language Development, English Language Arts, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Antiracism in Schools, School Integration Initiatives, and Systems for Closing the Opportunity Gap.

Teacher of the Year Rosie Reid, 2019, on PBS