About Raye

I have been teaching for 14 years. The 2020-2021 school year will mark my 15th year in education. 

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 have had several split/combination grade classrooms (twice with 4th/5th and once with 2nd/3rd). Somehow I have always avoided kindergarten and 1st.

For the 2019-2020 school year, I changed school districts and served as a K-8 ESL teacher. I supported one K-5 elementary school and was housed mainly at the middle school working with 6-8th grade ELs. For 2020-2021, I will be teaching 6th-8th grade language arts at the same middle school. I'm super pumped because I've always wanted to be a full-time middle school teacher and now I am!
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I am a huge advocate for amplifying teacher voice. I firmly believe that every conversation around any changes in education should have teachers at the table. I have served as a Teacher Leader in two schools and am excited to see where my leadership skills can be put to use in my new position. 

My passion areas include amplifying teacher voice, Restorative Practices, trauma informed instruction and utilizing SIOP strategies to support students in learning English. 

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