Who+are+we?

Teamwork does not tolerate the inconvenience of distance. --Unknown What a perfect quote for our team! Originally the members of this LPLC were faculty members at MVHS who had a passion for YA Lit and were interested in exploring how to engage students in more reading. However, with the personal crisis in my life, there was very little time for us to meet. But with the power of the World Wide Web, we were able to virtually work together on the project. This is where the magnificent Maggie Nerney joined the group, since we decided that just because we worked in different districts did not mean that she could not be a part of our PLC.

We all see young people reading less, and we see our test scores dropping as a result. Students are generally not excited about reading the classics, however most are very enthusiastic about reading YA Lit. I have seen this in my own classroom, with both lower and higher level students. This LPC was formed out of the belief that we can hook these students with YA Lit and can encourage them to read the classics by building bridges and making connections to literature they like and their own lives.

Meg Doughty is in her 19th year of teaching at Mountain Valley High School (and she finds this hard to believe also!). Meg earned a BA in Literature from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1986. She received her teaching certificate through the Teachers for Secondary Schools program at University of Southern Maine in 1991. She is currently pursuing her Master's of Science in Education through the University of Maine at Farmington and plans to graduate as a member of the inaugural cohort in 2011. A recent convert to the power of YA Lit, Meg has committed to using YA Lit to build bridges and connect to the classics in her classroom. This year, she will be experimenting with //The Hunger Games// connecting to //Lord// //of the Flies//. In the future, she intends to continue to research and make other connections between YA Lit and the classics. As MVHS English department head, she intends to try and convert others by showing them the power of YA Lit. Maggie Nerney is currently the Phillips Elementary School English teacher. She has taught for 5 years in her own classroom. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education degree from the University of Maine at Farmington in the spring of 2004. She is currently working toward her Master of Science in Education degree at UMF and is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2011. Maggie started in the district as a long term substitute, Ed. Tech III, and Gear Up coordinator in the Phillips Elementary School in the fall of 2004. She spent the next three years teaching English at Mount Abram High School. There she taught juniors and the AP Language and Composition course. She earned her Gifted and Talented endorsement during that period. She has been at the Phillips Elementary School for the last year and a half teaching 5th- 8th grade English. During this 2009-2010 school year, Maggie has become the director of the Girls Talk and Teen Voices program, a literacy based mentoring program for young girls, at the Phillips School.

Mary Gamble is the library media specialist at Mountain Valley High School. Mary has spent the past few years building up the collection of YA Lit titles in the library and has established a book discussion group for teens. During their most resent discussion, they were able to have a Skype interview with YA Lit author Nancy Werlin after reading her novel, //Impossible//. Mary is deeply committed to encouraging teens to read, helping teachers and providing resources to all.

Natalie Bean has been teaching at Mountain Valley for three years. She graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington. This year, she took over teaching the Current Authors class (for seniors) and has turned it into an overview of the best of current YA Lit. As a result, the students are excited about reading and having great discussions. She hopes to continue to work with YA Lit in order to motivate and engage students in reading.