“Ms Lamons, do you remember meeting me online? Honestly, that whole year is a bit of a blur.” It just hit me. I met my incoming seniors for the 2023-2024 school year for the first time online. I met them behind the infamous Black Square Boxes. I engaged with them for an entire school year […]
Michele Lamons-Raiford
Michele Lamons-Raiford is a hearing American Sign Language (ASL) and English teacher at Pinole Valley High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. She has been a High School teacher for the past twenty years, as well as an Adjunct Instructor at Solano Community College for the past fifteen years. She has a BA and MA in English from Cal State University Sacramento, and teaching credentials in English and ASL from Cal State University East Bay. She is a devoted wife, a mother of a beautiful Neurodiverse Son, and a lifelong Advocate for ASL, Deaf Culture, Students with Special Needs, Culturally Relevant, Culturally Affirming, Anti-Racist School Cultures, Climates, and Diversity in Educational Institutions and Organizations.
Dyslexia Awareness Month: A student and her mother’s journey
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. As a twenty-two-year veteran teacher, I admittedly am not very familiar with it, but I know about the importance of seeking out the experts. As a lifelong learner, I wanted to learn more about how I can help these students who might enter my classroom. But what better way to […]
Coping with the Loss and Grief of a Teacher Bestie
Teacher Bestie: Writing has always been a cathartic vehicle for tumultuous times throughout my life. When I had a catastrophic miscarriage of quadruplets, lost my beautiful grandmother, or lost a decades-long friend who was the absolute kindest soul I knew, I leaned on my faith, my circle of support, and all that I ever learned […]
Five Ways to Increase Parent Involvement in Schools
I am fortunate to be uniquely positioned to be both a parent and a teacher. As a high school and college instructor, the world of elementary education is extremely new to me. I am also a mother who has jumped into the new terrain of raising an elementary-age child with neurodiversity. The boundless questions and […]
Lebron James’ I Promise School: Test Scores Don’t Always Tell the Whole Story
With the recent headlines about the failing state test scores of students in Lebron James, I Promise school, many point their proverbial “blame and shame” fingers. There is so much to unpack in the negative light painted in the focus on the fact these upcoming eighth graders “hadn’t passed the math portion of their state […]
God Must Have Forgot About Me: Book Reflection from a Veteran Teacher
Once you get past googling the multifaceted Jason Lee, author of God Must Have Forgot About Me, and finished clutching your imaginary pearls, take a few deep breaths, push past your pre-judgments, and ask yourself why a veteran teacher would choose this particular book to reflect on this summer. The answer is very simple: Lee’s […]
Reflection on 8 Black Hands Podcast: Dr. Charles Cole III Speaks on All Things Education
I recently participated in a virtual space with members of 8 Black Hands, an education podcast I have had the privilege of listening to for the past year. I have learned so much from the wisdom Christopher Stewart, Sharif El-Mekki, Raymond Ankrum, and Dr. Charles Cole III share. I am continually challenged and edified by […]
From Tennessee to Your Classroom, Amplify Student Voices
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Like many, I was captivated by the story of the expulsion of two Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee. I was drawn in by the righteous and justifiable indignation, the engaging call to action, and I listened intently to the powerful voices […]