Consulting and Professional Development Work
- Consultant in schools and districts throughout the US and internationally
- Speaker at national conferences including ASCD, NCTE, Literacy for All, and Learning & the Brain
- Instructor for Summer Literacy Institutes at the University of New Hampshire
- Presenter for University of New Hampshire Professional Development and Training
- Former ASCD Whole Child advisor and Responsive Classroom® consultant, presenter, and developer
Writing
A prolific writer, Mike has authored nine books. His latest, What We Say and How We Say It Matter hit best-seller status five months after its release. All of his books share two traits: they’re practical and readable–written with curious and busy teachers in mind.
Mike has also authored many articles through publications such as Language Arts Magazine, Educational Leadership, and Edutopia.
Mike shares many practical ideas for great teaching and learning through his blog. Many of his blog articles are featured as resources through colleges and universities.
Professional Accolades
Mike was honored to receive the Outstanding Educational Leader Award from NHASCD in June, 2020.
Mike was a finalist for the New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 2005.
In 2004, Mike was a recipient of the National Milken Educator Award. This award recognizes and celebrates outstanding teachers. In addition to national recognition, recipients receive a $25,000 unrestricted award.
The What Every Teacher Needs to Know series, which Mike co-authored, was a finalist for the Distinguished Achievement Award, given by the Association of Educational Publishers.
The First Six Weeks of School, which Mike authored, was awarded a bronze medal by the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2016.
Teaching Experience
For fifteen years, Mike taught third, fourth, and fifth grades, first in East Lyme, CT and later in Portsmouth, NH. He loved facilitating independent research with his students, was always on the look-out for the next great read-aloud, and loved to find ways to make all learning fun and purposeful from his students’ perspectives.
Mike has also worked with children in a variety of other settings. He was a high school and age-group swim coach. He worked with preschool children all through his undergraduate years. More recently, he served as a parent helper in a high school science club (where he was nicknamed “Science Dad” by one of the students).
Personal Interests
Mike lives in Durham, NH with his incredible family. His wife, Heather, is also an educator and is now focused on pursuing work as a knitting teacher and designer. Ethan and Carly are both now in college (Yikes!). Together, the family loves to hike and bike, travel to visit family, play Five Crowns and Jok-R-Ummy, and spend time with great friends in town.
In addition to his work with education, Mike enjoys nature around his house–gardening, landscaping, and keeping logs and photos of birds and animals he sees in the yard. He also likes to take on house projects such as building concrete countertops and replacing windows. His recent hobby is running. He’s working to drop his 5K time and is also enjoying trying half marathons. Mike is also an avid Red Sox fan, but don’t worry, he’ll still consult in Yankee territory.
