On Tuesday, October 6th, the editorial team from Heinemann Publishers spent the day visiting classrooms at Jonathan Valley Elementary School. Located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Heinemann is the country’s leading publisher of professional books and curriculum resources for teachers. Once a year the editorial team meets somewhere in the country for the sole purpose of visiting classrooms as a team. Last year the team spent two days in New York City, so this year they wanted to visit schools in a very different part of the country. Katie Wood Ray, Executive Editor for Heinemann, works remotely from her home in Waynesville, so she suggested the visit to Jonathan Valley Elementary. For years Ray collaborated with a Jonathan Valley teacher, Lisa Cleaveland, as they studied the development of beginning writers. Cleaveland and Ray have co-authored one book on the topic, and next spring, Heinemann will publish Cleaveland’s book More About the Authors: Authors and Illustrators Mentor Our Youngest Writers.

At the end of the day, the editorial team met with the faculty from Jonathan Valley to talk about their impressions and also to listen to teacher’s ideas about the role of professional books and resources in their day-to-day lives as teachers. The day seemed to be a rewarding one for all involved. As General Manager Vicki Boyd said, “We make books for teachers, so it’s important for us to know the realities of classrooms. When we observe together, the experience informs our work so much more richly.”  Brenda Wilson, Lead Teacher at Jonathan Valley Elementary said this about the day; “We were excited to have been chosen to host this year’s school visit by the Heinemann editorial team.  Just to have the opportunity to sit down with these professionals and discuss educational trends was an awesome experience.”

Submitted by:  Roxana Brestle, Jonathan Valley Elementary