about me

  a few fun facts & a professional resume

I'm a teacher first and then a writer, mostly of poetry.  I've been a choral singer, an improvisational comedian, a quilter and a salsa dancer.  I'm a Wesleyan Alpha Delt, a UU and an ENTJ (if you're interested in Myers-Briggs personality types). 

I hold a Master's in Language and Literature in Education in addition to my teaching and bachelor’s degrees. This extensive training has served me well throughout 20 years of classroom experience, during which I've taught children ages 3 to 11 in schools from East Harlem to Inner London to the DC suburbs.  I've conducted inservice development for teachers in Writing Workshop, a literature experience class for ages 4-7 called "Books for Beginners," and freelance workshops in classrooms throughout the DC Metro area.

Professional Resume

HEIDI MORDHORST

EDUCATION

M.A. with Distinction in Language and Literature, Institute of Education, University of London                                              1994

Course topics included sociolinguistics, bilingual education and “the canon.”  Dissertation: the role of classroom literature experience in developing children’s writing fluency.

M.S. Ed. with Distinction (K -6), Bank Street College of Education, New York City                                                      1988

Course topics included design and implementation of integrated, developmentally appropriate curriculum with social

studies at the core.  Final project: a practical economics curriculum for 8-9’s.

B.A in American Studies, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT                                                                            1985

Course topics included literature, art, film, history, politics and religion.  Special projects focused on American public education policy and reform.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Reading Initiative Teacher, First Grade, Garrett Park Elementary School, Bethesda, MD                 present

Responsible for implementing MCPS reading, language arts and social studies curriculum for a group of 1st graders.

Lead Teacher, Bethesda Cooperative Nursery School, Bethesda, MD                                                                                   1999-2007

Responsible for planning and implementing, with an assistant, a half-day thematic curriculum for 4-year-olds,

including formal and informal parent education in a cooperative setting.

Class Teacher, Dodge Park Elementary School, Landover, MD                                                        1996-1998

Responsible for teaching Grade 3 integrated humanities in a departmentalized setting.  Activities:  Author of several performance-based curriculum units; secretary of School-Based Management Team; founder and chair of Creative Arts Committee; organizer of after-school enrichment programs in cooking, crafts and drama.

Music Teacher, Lordship Lane Infant School, London Borough of Haringey                                                                1994-1996

Responsible for planning and implementing National Curriculum music for 3- to 7-year-olds, including writing the

school’s music policy and schemes of work.  Activities:  Member of Language, Religious Education and Sports Day

working parties; organizer of school-wide mail-order book club; secretary of National Union of Teachers Chapter.

Class Teacher, Brecknock JMI School, London Borough of Camden                                                                             1991-1994

Responsible for teaching ten National Curriculum subjects for Year 5 (9-10’s) and Year 2 (6-7’s).  Activities:  Library Coordinator (a paid position); member of Language curriculum working party; organizer of children’s after-school choir.

Class Teacher, P.S. 96, East Harlem, New York City                                                                                        1987-1991

Responsible for teaching all subjects for Grades 1, 1/2 and 3.  Activities:  Early Years Representative on school-based management team and to Manhattan District 4 Office; co-author of original social studies-based integrated curriculum for grades K-4; member of the Writing Network, a support group for teachers of Writing Workshop.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

*Founding Team Member of fledgling Montgomery County K-8 Public Charter School project                                          2009

*Author of Pumpkin Butterfly:  Poems from the Other Side of  Nature, published by Wordsong/Boyds Mills   2009

*Author of Squeeze: Poems from a Juicy Universe, published by Wordsong/Boyds Mills                                                      2005

*Member, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators                                                    2003-present

*Teacher of Books for Beginners,   weekly small-group literature program for 4 to 6-year-olds                                 2001-2002

*Instructor of Prince George’s Co. Schools in-service course on Writing Workshop                                                     1997

*Member of the Primary Steering Committee, National Association of Teachers of English, UK                              1993-1996

*Author of Bookworm, the children’s book review column of TermTime Magazine, UK                                       1995-1996

*Participant in Columbia Teachers’ College Summer Writing Institute                                                                                1988

Fun Facts

My family celebrates 12 Days of Yuletide:

Starting on the Winter Solstice--as the wheel of the year begins another turn--we think on the old and prepare for the new,  lighting another candle each night for each of these human gifts:  inner light, home and family, energy and effort, compassion, generosity, our physical bodies (also known as "beastly nature"!), laughter, intellect, art, wisdom, faith and optimism and community.  Each day has its focus and its own color of candle, and the presents we give and receive go with the celebration of the day.  Yes, I made it up, and yes, friends tease us by wishing us a Happy RamaKwanHanuMas, but it works for us.

Favorite color:

Turquoise--could you guess?  It took me a long time, but I finally made the committment at age 32.

Least favorite food:

Green peppers, although I like other green vegetables--even Brussels sprouts. 

Most favorite food:

Yes.

Favorite picture books:

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig; Hazel's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells; Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran;  Swimmy by Leo Lionni, and any by Ezra Jack Keats, an erstwhile green sofa of whose I used to sit on during meetings of my Manhattan writing group--and I've discovered that we share the same birthday, March 11!

Favorite chapter books:

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner Chandler; Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg; My Side of the Mountain by Jean George; and Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.  Recent additions:  The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine.

After eight years teaching the Caterpillar Class at Bethesda Cooperative Nursery School, in 2006 my partner and I moved our two children to an apartment in Vincennes, just outside Paris, for a year-long adventure. We've now returned to Bethesda, where our 5th-grade girl and a 7-year-old boy attend their local Montgomery County school.  Meanwhile, I've returned to the public schools as well, and I love teaching reading, writing and social studies to a group of 1st graders at Garrett Park ES--while participating in a project to establish Montgomery County's first public charter school.