Kathy Saunders is a National Board Certified English Teacher and the 2014-2105 Piedmont-Triad/Central Region Teacher of the Year. She teaches AP English Language and Composition, Honors, and inclusion English III at Grimsley High School. She has taught English 9-12, including Advanced Placement English Literature, honors, and inclusion classes.

Mrs. Saunders graduated from UNC-Greensboro with an M.Ed. in Middle Grades and Secondary English. She is a member of Dr. June Atkinson’s Teacher Advisory Council and also serves on Governor McCrory’s Teacher Advisory Committee. Kathy is a proud advocate of service learning and is a service learning coordinator for Grimsley High School.







Transcript of the Interview

1. Imagine someone visited your class several times, what would they say the principal teaching strategies you use are? Could you talk about teaching strategies you use that are universal, and as well as strategies that are somewhat unique to you and your personality?
2. How do you organize your class to maximize learning opportunities for your students? How do you help them become better learners?
3. How do you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of students with special needs (EC, ESL, AIG, etc.)?
4. How do you know when learning is occurring and what do you do when you question whether learning is taking place in the classroom?
5. How do you “hook” a reluctant learner to your content?
6. If you were to give advice to a new teacher in North Carolina, what 2-3 learnings would you share?