Julia Salce

I wanted to be a doctor. Really. But then, as I stared at the sea of students in my freshman year biology class in college, I choked. Intuitively, I knew I wasn’t prepared for this intensity of learning, and I hated how that lack of preparation felt, so I chose to dive into the education world and become teacher—the BEST decision I ever made. I didn’t know it then, but my frustration with my own education experiences became just the fuel I needed these last 19 years to challenge the ‘norm’ in education, to take risks with best practices that challenged both me and my students, to embrace the ever-evolving research and make sure that no students who left my room, ever felt as unprepared as I did that first semester in college.

I am first and foremost a wife to an amazing man and fellow educator and mom to two beautiful babies: Katie (11) and Matthew (5). My journey to motherhood was one that has left me incredibly thankful for the blessings that they are, even when they are driving me crazy!

I began teaching in 2004, serving as a classroom teacher, new teacher mentor, department chair, ELA curriculum coordinator and now my current role as a K-12 instructional specialist. The most impacting moments in my career came with my first Kagan training, AVID trainings, my National Board Certification process, and finally my time spent now getting to research and support teachers.

In my free time I like to crochet, hang out with my babies, and love on our puppy Diego. I crave the seasons and miss them dearly living in a desert. Coffee helps me create each season in the brews I select. I am the biggest coffee enthusiast of our group and couldn’t be happier that we have themed ourselves the educational baristas.