AMY S. WALDO
Gwinn High School
50 W. M-35
Gwinn, MI 49841
Tel: (906) 346-0330
email: producewithamy@gmail.com
blog: www.producewithamy.com
blog:www.hamy10@wordpress.com
EDUCATION
Education Specialist in Administration
Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan -- May 2015 – Current.
Master of Arts (M.A.) in English (Writing and Pedagogy)
Northern Michigan University; Marquette, Michigan – August 2006.
Professional Teacher Certification for Post-Baccalaureate Program
Northern Michigan University; Marquette, Michigan – April 2001.
Major: English. Minor: Speech.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) School of Broadcasting, Journalism, & Electronic Communication
Marquette University; Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- April 1993.
Major: Broadcasting. Minor: English
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Gwinn High School – August 2001-present
English/Language Arts – grades 8-12
Teach English 8, 9, and Creative Writing. The main focus in my classroom is to develop a writing and reading
community where my students feel comfortable and safe to share their own stories and to make connections from
various texts to their own lives. My job as an educator is to help give my students the tools to communicate in the
world and help them to develop their own voice and to gain deep knowledge. My lessons actively employ
cooperative learning, technology, and I strive to help them foster a passion for learning.
INTERNSHIP
Graduate Internship -- Summer 2002
Upper Peninsula Writing Project
Served as an intern to the director of the Upper Peninsula Writing Project for the 2002 Summer Institute. The fourweek internship took place on Northern Michigan University’s campus and included an additional three-day writing
retreat. Duties: Aided the director in administration procedures; collaborated with 20 other teacher-consultants;
learned a variety of approaches to writing and the teaching of writing through class sessions and self-selected
readings; presented demonstrations based on classroom practice; wrote on topics of personal interest; worked in
small writing groups; and published writing in a class anthology.
PRESENTATIONS
National
 National Council of Teachers of English. November 2010 (Orlando, FL) “Inward and Outward, Alone and
Together: Writing About the Holocaust and What Follows." With Heather Hollands.

National Writing Project Annual Convention. November 2010 (Orlando, FL) “Reading, Writing and
Teaching About the Holocaust.” With Heather Hollands.

National Writing Project Annual Convention. November 2009 (Philadelphia, PA) “Bringing the Writing
Marathon into the Digital Age with Digital Stories.” With Heather Hollands.

National Writing Project Rural Sites Network Retreat. March 2005 (Folsom, CA) “Voices, Visions and
Verse.” With Heather Hollands and Jan Sabin.

National Writing Project Annual Convention. November 2003 (San Francisco, CA) “Developing and
Sustaining Leadership Through Collaborative Action Research.” With Heather Hollands, Dr. Jon Davies,
and Jan Sabin.
State
National Writing Projects of Michigan Retreat. August 2010 (Mount Pleasant, MI) Central Michigan
University. “Digital Storytelling” and “The Star Project a Holocaust Remembrance Community Event” With
Heather Hollands.
Michigan Comprehensive School Reform Annual Meeting. February 2004 (Battle Creek, MI) “Influencing
Reform All Around a District.” With Heather Hollands, Emily Arseneau, and Connie Joffee.
National Writing Projects of Michigan Leadership Retreat. August 2003 (Battle Creek, MI) “Multigenre
Writing.” With Heather Hollands.
Local
ED 596 “Digital Storytelling with a Mentor Text.” May 14, June 20-22, 2011. Northern Michigan University.
Co-Taught with Heather Hollands.
ED 989 “Telling Our Stories in the Digital Age.” June 14-17, 2010. Northern Michigan University; MARESA
Summer Institute. Co-Taught with Heather Hollands.
Upper Peninsula Reading Conference. October 2009. (Marquette, MI) “Telling Our Digital Stories.” With
Heather Hollands.
EN 596 “Digital Storytelling.” June 2009. Northern Michigan University. Co-Taught with Heather Hollands.
Upper Peninsula Writing Project Youth Writing Marathon. June 2008. Northern Michigan University. With
Heather Hollands.
EN 596 “Writing our Local Wonders.” June 2007. Northern Michigan University. Co-Taught with Heather
Hollands.
U.P. Fall Educators’ Conference. October 2006 (Marquette, MI). “The Rural Poetry Initiative and PlaceConscious Writing.” With Heather Hollands.
Upper Peninsula Writing Project Teacher Professional Development Workshop. March 2006 (Marquette, MI).
“Celebrating Rural Poetry.” With Heather Hollands.
Upper Peninsula Writing Project. October 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 (Marquette, MI) “Writing Marathon.”
With Heather Hollands and Jan Sabin.
Gwinn High School Professional Development Workshop. October 2003 (Gwinn, MI) “Seven Literacy
Strategies that Work.” With Heather Hollands, Emily Arseneau, Connie Joffee, and Tom Ross.
Upper Peninsula Reading Conference. October 2003 (Marquette, MI) “The UPWP: Growing a Community of
Writing Teachers.” With Heather Hollands, Dr. Jon Davies, and Jan Sabin.
Phi Delta Kappa Seminar. September 2003 (Marquette, MI) “Teacher Action Research.” With Heather
Hollands and Ragene Henry.
Upper Peninsula Writing Project Summer Institute Workshop. July 2003 (Marquette, MI) “Multi-Genre
Writing.” With Heather Hollands and Connie Heinlein.
CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
National Writing Project Rural Sites Resource Retreat, July 2010 (Austin, TX)
The Memorial Library Holocaust Educators Leadership Satellite Institute, June 2010 (Columbia University,
New York) Sponsored by Lehman College of the City University of New York and the National Writing
Project.
Wide Paths: Writing in Digital Environments ~ Pedagogies and Theories, August 2009 (Michigan State
University, Lansing, MI) Sponsored by the National Writing Projects of Michigan.
The Memorial Library Holocaust Educators Seminar Fellowship, July 2009 (Columbia University, New York)
Sponsored by Lehman College of the City University of New York and the National Writing Project.
Teach Vietnam Network; Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, July 2007 (American University, Washington
D.C.)
National Council of Teachers of English and National Writing Project Annual Conventions, November 2003
(San Francisco, CA), 2004 (Indianapolis, IN), 2005 (Pittsburgh, PA), 2006 (Nashville, TN), 2007 (New York,
NY), 2009 (Philadelphia, PA), 2010 (Orlando, FL), 2012 (Las Vegas, NV)
National Youth Leadership Council Convention, March 2005 (Long Beach, CA)
Writing Marathon. National Writing Project—MI, October 2003 (Traverse City, MI)
National Writing Project Rural Sites Retreat. February 2003 (Tucson, AZ), March 2005 (Folsom, CA)
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Adviser, Gwinn High School Class of 2018.
Member of the Northern Shores Writing Project Leadership Team, 2014-present.
Holocaust Educator Network of Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI. August 2011. Co-Organized and facilitated a
summer seminar for seventeen educators from across Michigan in Holocaust and Social Justice Education. The
seminar was sponsored by the Memorial Library of NYC, the National Writing Projects of Michigan, Western
Michigan University and Northern Michigan University.
The Star Project, Gwinn High School, May 2010. Coordinated a district wide community event with Heather
Hollands and David Dagenais. Holocaust Survivor Inge Auerbacher traveled from New York to speak at the
event.
Gwinn High School Summer School Credit Recovery. Instructor; June-July 2009.
Member of the Upper Peninsula Writing Project Leadership Team, 2001—2013.
Founded and organized the Gwinn High School Love of Reading Month, February 2009. Held a penny drive,
raffle and poetry contest to raise funds to purchase new library books.
Co-Coordinator, Gwinn High School Mark DeShambo Memorial Poetry Contest, 2008-2011.
Co-Coordinator, Gwinn High School Everyday Hero Essay Contest, 2008-2011.
Adviser, Gwinn High School Class of 2007, 2003—2007. Created, implemented and coordinated a community
wide Harvest Bazaar; 2004-2006.
Adviser, Support Our Troops Service Learning Project, 2004-2014.
Co-Editor of Voices, Visions and Verse, a K-12 anthology of writing and artwork from students around the
Upper Peninsula, 2002—2009.
Member of the Gwinn School District’s Curriculum Coordinating Council, 2002—2006; Gwinn School
District’s Reading/Language Arts Committee, 2002--2005.
Family Readiness Group Leader, 652nd Engineer Company USAR (Harvey, MI) 2004.
GRANTS AND HONORS
Grants
Recipient of an Excellence in Education Grant in the amount of $500 to create a writing garden on the Gwinn
High School campus. May 2015.
Have had sixteen projects through Donors Choose funded for my classroom totaling over $10,000.
Holocaust Educators Network Leaders Journey to Poland and Israel fellowship recipient. March 24-April 4,
2012. One of sixteen educators chosen from across the United States to travel to Poland to visit the ghettos and
extermination camps and then to Israel to see what has grown from the ashes of Auschwitz.
Recipient of an Excellence in Education Grant in the amount of $500 to support the visit of a Holocaust
speaker. May 2009. With Heather Hollands and David Dagenais.
National Writing Project Rural Sites Mini-Grant in the amount of $5,000. March 2009. Authored a grant to
lead a professional development workshop on Digital Storytelling.
Recipient of an Excellence in Education Grant in the amount of $1000 to attend Teach Vietnam conference in
Washington D.C. May 2007.
National Writing Project and Rural School and Community Trust “Rural Poetry Initiative.” March 2006.
One of six Writing Project sites to be awarded a $3,000 mini-grant. Funds matched by Upper Peninsula Writing
Project. Created a rural poetry contest with one student from the Upper Peninsula selected to represent our
region at a reading with U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser at the Library of Congress with Heather Hollands for
the Upper Peninsula Writing Project.
Honors
Selected by the Class of 2014 to be the Gwinn Area Community School’s Commencement Speaker. May 25,
2014.
Inaugural member of the Charles Crupi Memorial Society for Excellence in the Teacher of Poetry; Albion
College. Albion, Michigan. April 2014.
Selected by top Gwinn High School graduating seniors as their Influential Educator for Marquette Counties
Excellence in Education Week. April 2014, April 2015.
Gwinn Area Community School’s District Teacher of the Year. April 2014.
Marquette Area Zonta Club Yellow Rose recipient for furthering the status of women by improving the legal,
political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women through service and advocacy.
Gwinn Education Association Outstanding Person in Education 2010-2011. May 2011.
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Inspired by Art Writing Contest 1st place poetry winner in the adult category.
November 2010.
Michigan Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year. January 2006.
National Military Family Association Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program winner.
April 2005.
652nd Engineer Company Family Readiness Group received a 2004 Reserve Family Readiness Award at the
Pentagon in the Hall of Heroes. February 2005.
District 14 Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year. Gwinn, Michigan. 2004-2005.
Short story winner for the 11th annual Marquette Monthly Short Story Contest. April 2001.