A Little Bit About Me

My name is Jill Culmo. I am an educator who is passionate about literacy. I love to read, and I work tirelessly to get my students to love reading, too. I wholeheartedly believe that students who read more, achieve more, and that one of our top priorities as educators is to motivate kids to want to read more (hence the name of this blog!)

I have attempted to write a blog several times. I previously wrote a combination personal and professional blog, but I've now made the decision to separate the two. I recently made a promise to myself to revive the professional-side of my blog. I wanted to give the blog some depth, so some of the posts you'll read here are cut and pasted from my earlier blogs.

I just finished up my 17th year in education. I was a classroom teacher for 15 years, teaching all grades from first through fifth. (I also did a stint semester teaching seventh grade summer school. Yikes!) I've also taught developmental reading courses at a local community college, and I was honored to be an adjunct professor at a university. I received my Bachelor of Science from the University of North Texas and my Master of Science in Reading from Texas A&M University--Commerce. In 2009, I completed my Doctor of Education in Curriculum, Supervision, and Instruction at TAMU-C. The title of my dissertation was The Impact of Daily Independent Self-selected Reading on Second Grade Students. Currently I work as an Instructional Specialist and Early Literacy Specialist in the Mesquite Independent School District. As my principal put it, I help "to grow both teachers and students."

My husband and I are the parents of three wonderful children, ranging in age from 3 to 12 years. When I'm not working, taking care of my kids, reading, or doing laundry, I pretend to be a runner.