Andy Moral teaches fourth grade in Council Rock School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Andy earned his bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University and master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Scranton. He was introduced to Responsive Classroom early in his teaching career and has seen improved academic performance and classroom culture as a result. In addition to serving as a full-time classroom teacher, Andy works as a staff developer in his school district and supports teachers in grades K–8 with their knowledge and implementation of the Responsive Classroom approach. Andy coauthored Seeing the Good in Students and Empowering Educators: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Grades 3, 4, 5, both published by Center for Responsive Schools. He also authored the Quick Coaching Guide Replacing Direct Teaching With Active Learning, and sees the benefits of using movement to increase student learning outcomes and promote positive behavior. Outside of teaching, Andy enjoys exercising and spending time with his wife and two children. 

Ann McDonough received her bachelor of arts degree at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, in 1994. She began her career as a third-grade teacher in Brookline, MA. While truly enjoying New England, she moved back to the New York Tri-state area to be closer to friends and family. Once in New Jersey, she began teaching grades one through six and earned her master’s degree in administration and supervision from Rutgers University. Ann teaches fifth grade, is a literary coach for her district, and is a consulting teacher for the Center for Responsive Schools. While Administration was a goal at one time, her passion always drove her back to teaching. That drive for teaching brought her to Responsive Classroom as a way to not only embrace her own teaching and enhance the performance of her classroom environment but to relay that knowledge to her peers in an effort to empower others. She believes strongly in creating an inclusive classroom and sees to it that each individual is valued. In her spare time, Ann loves to spend time with her husband and daughter, read, work out at the local CrossFit gym, and cuddle up to her dog, Oakley.

Ann Rose Santoro has over thirty-five years of teaching experience and five years of experience as an instructional coach in Port Chester, New York. Ann Rose now works full-time for Center for Responsive Schools as an educational consultant and coach. She was trained in the Responsive Classroom approach by some of the original founders, including Chip Wood, Marlynn Clayton, and Ruth Charney, and became a Responsive Classroom consulting teacher in 2010. Ruth Charney’s Teaching Children to Care was transformational for Ann Rose as an educator, and being a Responsive Classroom teacher has been a life-changing experience. Ann Rose was awarded Teacher of the Year in her district, has served as a member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Teacher Advisory Council, and is an America Achieves Educator Voice Fellow. She holds a bachelor of science in psychology and a master of teaching degree and recently received a doctorate of education in teacher leadership in digital transformation. Ann Rose spends her free time on Cape Cod with her family and on the slopes snowboarding during the winter.

Annie Mozer is currently a first grade teacher, a certified S.E.E.D (National SEED Project) facilitator and a mentor to young teachers in Washington, DC. She has worked in the field of education since the early 90’s. She has experience teaching preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade. She believes deeply in the power of building connections with people young and old to ensure positive academic experiences. She has taught in the U.S. and in Skopje, Macedonia. In her spare time, she co-manages a Children’s (Educational) Garden, serves as co-president of the board of the Takoma Foundation and walks many miles with her two labradors. She learned about Responsive Classroom 20 years ago and has been a Responsive Classroom devotee ever since by attending many workshops and incorporating the skills and strategies into her teaching. She is thrilled to be supporting Responsive Classroom as a Consulting Teacher and sharing life-changing skills, especially teacher language, with teachers.

April Bates currently teaches math at the middle school level in a rural school in Maine where she has over 30 years’ teaching experience. Her journey with Responsive Classroom started 20 years ago while teaching in elementary school. Her passion for the approach inspired her to become trained to present the elementary, middle school, and advanced workshops. April’s dedication to Responsive Classroom has helped train and support pre-K through eighth grade teachers in her own district as well as countless educators across the country. When she isn’t working, April enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, kayaking, and golfing.

Ashley Gilbert is an educational consultant and coach for Center for Responsive Schools. For over fourteen years, she has supported the unique learning needs of students and helped them grow in their social-emotional and academic competencies. Prior to joining CRS, she held roles as a special education teacher, classroom teacher, reading specialist, and, most recently, a building administrator in upstate New York. She holds a master of science in building and district leadership, a master of science in literacy, and bachelor of science degrees in general education and special education. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys hanging out with her husband and two daughters, reading, traveling, and finding new hiking adventures.

Barb Hobe is a library-media specialist for a K-6 elementary school and Responsive Classroom coach for her district. Prior to her role as the LMS, Barb taught third grade for 10 years in a suburb of Chicago. Throughout her teaching career, she has been fortunate to work in a district that fosters the Responsive Classroom philosophy. Through her unique experience as a classroom teacher, specialist, and school and district leader, Barb has worked with fellow educators to create supportive environments, systems, and practices where students and staff can grow academically as well as socially in safe and inclusive schools. Barb continues to push herself to learn new things. She holds a master’s in reading, various academic endorsements, and is actively involved in diverse learning opportunities to develop both professional and personal knowledge and skills. Barb takes this love for learning and shares it with her family, colleagues, and students in the hope that they too get hooked on new discoveries.

Barbara Borer has over 30 years of educational experience in a variety of positions that include classroom teacher, educational consultant, and principal. During her career, she has been passionate about leading innovation to create schools that serve all students. The Responsive Classroom approach has been an integral component of her work. She was initially trained in the approach in 1996 and has enjoyed connecting with other educators around the country ever since. Supporting teachers in developing reader and writer workshops with their students has been her second educational love. Out of the educational realm, Barbara enjoys reading, biking, and sitting by the lake “up north” in Minnesota.

Becky Hutto has been implementing Responsive Classroom practices in her roles as teacher and building and district leader since 1994. She became a Responsive Classroom consulting teacher in 1998 and has been privileged to present Responsive Classroom workshops throughout the United States, learning so much from her participants and colleagues. Becky served as a classroom, gifted and talented, and basic skills teacher in grades K-6 for 23 years, working in New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey, and Northern Ireland, followed by 16 years as a building administrator in New Jersey. She earned a BA in English from Bates College, an MEd in elementary/early childhood education from Antioch New England, and an EdD in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Becky loves to read, cook, travel internationally, and spend time with her family. Her “go to” Responsive Classroom books are The Power of our Words and Solving Thorny Behavior Problems.

Rebecca “Becky” Wanless-Bobo is a second grade teacher in New Albany Plain Local Schools, outside of Columbus, Ohio. She has been active in the field of education since 2005. She received two master’s degrees from The Ohio State University, one focused on drama, language, literacy, and culture and the other on education administration. Becky developed a passion for the Responsive Classroom approach after reading several Responsive Classroom books and attending a Responsive Classroom workshop. Her passion was ignited even further once she saw the positive impact Responsive Classroom practices had on students and staff members in her school. Becky coauthored Empowering Educators: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Grades K, 1, 2 and has contributed to Center for Responsive Schools’ Journal of Social and Emotional Learning. In her spare time, she enjoys walking her dogs, Matilda and Kobe, and trying out new coffee shops. She is thrilled to be supporting Center for Responsive Schools as a consulting teacher.

Ben is currently an elementary teacher in the Twin Cities Metro Area, Minnesota, and has over sixteen years of experience. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then later went back to school to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Augsburg College (Minneapolis, MN). He was introduced to Responsive Classroom before his first year of teaching; however, about eight years into his career, he retook all the Responsive Classroom classes and has been enamored with the approach ever since. He has been blessed to work closely with other Responsive Classroom consulting teachers in his district. He feels incredibly fortunate to have been immersed in this approach for over half of his teaching career and to witness the positive results from utilizing RC on a daily basis. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to share Responsive Classroom with other educators.

Beth Osgood is a consulting teacher for Center for Responsive Schools and an executive function coach working with a variety of students in the virtual setting. 

Prior to her work with CRS, Beth was an elementary educator for twenty-five years, teaching both second and third grade in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. She received her master’s degree from Antioch University and later went on to pursue a certificate of autism spectrum disorders to support her varied work with autistic students. Beth has extensive experience teaching children with a variety of academic, social, emotional, and behavioral challenges and has cocreated an SEL summer camp program for autistic students in her school district. In her spare time, Beth enjoys swimming, being outdoors, traveling with her husband, and spending time with her adult children. She is thrilled to be supporting adult learners as they explore Responsive Classroom practices.

Betsy Pattison has 19 years of experience as a classroom teacher at Dunbar Hill School in Hamden, Connecticut. She has taught second and third grades and is currently happy in her position as a kindergarten teacher. She was first introduced to the Responsive Classroom approach in 2008 and after seeing the positive impact it had on her own teaching and her students’ learning, she continued her Responsive Classroom journey and joined Center for Responsive Schools as a consulting teacher in 2012. Betsy earned her bachelor’s degree in social work, her master’s degree in elementary education, and a sixth-year professional certificate in classroom instruction. She is passionate about sharing the Responsive Classroom approach with educators to help them create optimal learning environments that are inclusive, empowering, creative, and fun. When she is not working, Betsy enjoys knitting, reading, gardening, and traveling with her husband and son.

Bill Knittle is a consulting teacher for Center for Responsive Schools and an elementary school principal in rural western Massachusetts. A principal for ten years, and a teacher for seven, he came to education after a twenty-plus-year career in the newspaper business. A member of the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association’s Teaching and Learning Committee, Bill works to represent small, independent public schools in statewide discussions. He holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also a member of In Bloom in Western Mass, supporting outdoor education initiatives at his and other like-minded schools.

Bonnie Baer-Simahk currently serves as the ELL Director for the Fitchburg Public Schools in Massachusetts, where she has worked for many years in various capacities. Her teaching experience includes K-6 ESL, kindergarten, adult English learners, and college students. She has enjoyed sharing the Responsive Classroom approach with her colleagues in Fitchburg, along with others around the country, for more than 25 years! One of the principal authors of Language Central for Science and a chapter in the Dove and Honigsfeld text Co-Teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in The EFL/ESL Classroom: Rationale, Research, Reflections, and Recommendations, Bonnie is interested in the ways in which teachers collaborate to promote language learning and academic growth for English language learners. When not working, she and her husband enjoy music, theatre, and sharing in the adventures of their grown children (their daughter—a teacher, and their two sons—both working actors).

Brian Smith is the head of Student Life for kindergarten through eighth grade and director of technology at Holy Spirit Episcopal School, where he teaches the middle school technology classes. Brian has been involved with the educational world for over twenty years, since graduating with his bachelor of science in psychology from Sam Houston State University. Brian received his MEd from the University of St. Thomas. Brian’s journey has included providing instruction in a Texas state jail and teaching special education and science in an inner-city Title I school. He is a coauthor of Empowering Educators: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Grades 6, 7, 8.