We believe teachers who write make the best teachers of writers.
Why?
Because it is difficult to teach a craft you do not participate in yourself. (How well would you learn to swim if your instructor had never been in the water?) Because teacher-writers know how fear and mindset affect writing and can recognize when they affect student-writers too. Because when teachers write, they develop strategies for overcoming their writing struggles and can teach their student-writers how to do the same.
Because being a teacher-writer helps you plan and differentiate your writing lessons and confer with your student-writers more effectively. Because teacher-writers recognize the very important role writing for an authentic audience and being a part of a supportive writing community makes in the life of a writer.
We exist to help teacher-writers grow as writers and as writing teachers through our workshops, mindset coaching, learning opportunities, and our amazing community.Here at Teach Write, a teacher-writer is anyone who works within the realm of education and has a desire to grow a writing habit.
Who is behind Teach Write?
Teach Write LLC was founded in 2017 by Jen Laffin, a former teacher who saw a need for a new way for teachers to feel supported while teaching writing.
A struggling writing teacher herself, Jen attended a National Writing Project Summer Institute where she fell in love with writing. When she brought her passion for writing back into her classroom, her students became more engaged and excited to grow their own writing lives. This was a career-changing moment for Jen as she saw firsthand that the key to being a strong writing teacher was to go through the writing process alongside her students as a writer herself. Wanting to help as many teachers and students experience this for themselves, she made the decision to leave the classroom and begin to support teachers in their own writing journeys as the founder of Teach Write LLC.
In 2018, Jen held the first Time to Write Workshop on Zoom (before Zoom was a household name). The community that grew from these workshops became something very special. Now, teachers from around the world could easily connect with each other to trade writing tips, instructional ideas, moral support, encouragement, accountability, and even the occasional recipe. The Time to Write Workshop quickly grew.
In 2022, Jen and her team made the decision to grow Teach Write again and started the Teach Write Academy, an all-inclusive, one-stop-shop for everything a teacher might need to support them as they become stronger writers and writing teachers. The Teach Write Academy monthly membership offers its members workshops, mindset coaching, resources, support, accountability, and that very special community that quickly becomes family to everyone who joins.
Now, In 2023 the ownership of Teach Write has changed hands and is now being lead by Arkansas teacher and writer of over a decade: Erica Johnson. She plans to carry the legacy and continue to support teachers and students in growing as writers!