Over the years I've had conversations with English teachers across different states, different grade levels, and different situations, and there's always a common thread:

"I love teaching, but something is missing."

"I know my students are capable, but I'm struggling to get them to connect, and it's becoming harder year after year.

"I just want to feel like I'm actually doing something here more than prepping them for another test."
 

Meet in the Margin was born from all of this.

I love conferences just as much as the next person. The buzzing, chaotic good energy, feeling the momentum of a mass of people all there in solidarity, etc. There are plenty of incredible spaces like this that already exist.

But I wanted to create a different kind of experience.

The larger page is nice, but the margin is where all the juiciness lives. It's where we ask questions, challenge ideas, make connections. It's the between-the-lines of writerly choices. The real, raw thoughts of the reader. The underbelly of ELA education.

MITM is a burst of renewed energy in a short weekend for the ELA teacher who knows and believes that literature has the power to change lives, but also that teaching is so much more than that.

It's a reset button after the honeymoon phase of BTS season is over, and the intimate, invigorating conversations about the shit that really matters (that you wish your PLCs contained).

This retreat is intentionally limited because I want to know exactly who is in the room, and I want you to leave with a community of like-minded teachers who are all building classrooms students will remember years after they've left them.

 

If all this speaks to your soul, I'd love to spend the weekend with you, in the margin ✏️

MEET ABBY RAMOS STANUTZ

Abby has been teaching middle school Language Arts in Title I schools across Texas for more than 20 years. Her perspective on teaching reading has been featured in Education Week, The Innovator's Mindset podcast, and The Wall Street Journal. (@abbyramosstanutz on TikTok)

But those accomplishments aren't actually the first thing I think about when I think about Abby. I think about how much she genuinely cares. I've had the privilege of working with Abby multiple times through my Write Way PDs, and last year I finally got to meet her in person at ISTE ☺️ 

Her passion for education is genuinely contagious. She believes in her students. She uplifts them. She holds the line when sh*t gets REALLY tough without losing the love underneath it.

And she brings that same combination of expertise and inspiring compassion to the educators around her.

I truly believe anyone who gets the opportunity to be in Abby's orbit walks away better because of it.

MEET LAQUISHA HALL

LaQuisha has dedicated 23 years to Baltimore City Public Schools as a literacy educator and coach. She was named the 2018 Baltimore City Teacher of the Year, has published more than 100 young scholars, and has impacted thousands of students and educators through innovative literacy practices, from arts integration to Starbooks Café experiences to sketchnoting.

And this one feels especially full-circle for me because I've been following LaQuisha since around 2017 🥹 (@mrshallscholars on IG)

For years, I watched the experiences she created for students and thought, yesssss. THIS. The creativity and the intentionality. The joy.

The way she makes literacy feel like something students get to experience instead of something we're just asking them to sit down, shut up, and figure out.

She inspired me as an educator long before Meet in the Margin was even a teeny tiny thought in my brain. And over the years, I've got to watch her impact ripple outward from her own students to other teachers and larger communities.

MEET CHRISTINA MORETH

Christina has been an educator for more than 15 years, teaching in Chicago Public Schools, other Chicagoland school districts, as well as in Spain.

Having taught nearly every level of high school Spanish, as well as newcomer through advanced English Language Learners, she centers her teaching on making learning relevant, engaging, and genuinely useful - whether that means exploring Bad Bunny’s impact or finding practical ways to help students become confident, successful readers.

She is intentional and passionate about teaching, never forgetting that the five-year-old Christina who taught her stuffed animals always dreamed of having her own classroom.

She shares many of her positive experiences as a teacher on social media (@christina_pina on TT/@mschristinapina on IG), encouraging conversations about the joy of teaching and sharing classroom successes in a profession that is increasingly affected by burnout. 

Christina is who I consider the queen on annotation strategies and making content click for the kids, and I know you will love the toolkit she shares with us.

MEET TRAVIS HUBBARD

Travis "Tee" Hubbard is a Secondary RLA Curriculum Facilitator at Crandall ISD, where he supports teachers in grades 6-12, and an English instructor at Dallas College and Tarrant County College.

He is a doctoral candidate in Literacy, Language, and Culture, where his dissertation uses Positioning Theory and raciolinguistics to examine how adolescents see themselves as writers. His scholarship has appeared in Reading Research Quarterly and The Reading Teacher.

As @thetrillprofessor, he shares accessible scholarship on language and literacy on TikTok, including findings and lessons on language, raciolinguistics, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. Travis' work is the true manifestation of intention + engagement combined, and I am 110% excited for him to share his knowledge and valuable resources with us. 

Every registration includes:

✔ 2-night lodging in a luxurious Savannah AirBnB - Friday + Saturday night (check in available at 4 p.m. / checkout available anytime on Sunday)

✔ Saturday coffee, pastries & breakfast bites + Saturday catered lunch

✔ Four interactive Saturday workshops

✔ Sunday closing session (voluntary)

✔ Retreat workbook, classroom resources, & goodie bag

✔ Post-retreat implementation call

✔ Access to the Meet in the Margin community

*Registration does include lodging for Friday and Saturday night, but does NOT include travel. If you’re flying in, you’ll want to fly into Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV). Please contact ana@simplyanap.com with any questions!