About Raye

I have been teaching for 12 years. The 2018-2019 school year will mark my 13th year in the classroom. 
I am a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early/Middle Childhood Literacy. I have a Master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I completed my Doctorate of Education degree in the spring of 2018 with a focus on Teacher Leadership. 
I have taught 2nd - 5th grade (and a summer school stint in 6th grade). I am currently teaching 2nd and 3rd grade. 
I am a huge advocate for amplifying teacher voice and serve as a Teacher Leader in my school in two ways. First I am the grade level chair for my grade which means I serve on the instructional leadership team and bring news from our principal back to my grade level. Second, I am part of the teacher leadership cohort with Leading Educators wherein we create professional development opportunities around the topics that will most impact our own school and students. 
My current passion areas (and I say "current" because it feels like sometimes it changes daily!) are: teacher powered schools, distributed leadership, trauma informed/trauma sensitive practices and restorative practices in the school setting. 

Raye's Professional Bookshelf

Who's Doing the Work?: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More
The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools
Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives
Writers Are Readers: Flipping Reading Instruction Into Writing Opportunities
Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
Innovate with iPad: Lessons to Transform Learning in the Classroom
Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings
The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading: An Assess-Decide-Guide Framework for Supporting Every Reader
Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom
Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
Kids First from Day One: A Teacher's Guide to Today's Classroom
DIY Literacy: Teaching Tools for Differentiation, Rigor, and Independence


Raye Wood's favorite books »

Professional Organizations

  • Teacher Leader - Leading Educators
  • EduMatch 
  • Network of Michigan Educators
  • Network of Michigan Educators - NBCTs