Joanna Hawkins

Joanna Hawkins has taught at the middle school level for 27 years, teaching English and Social Studies at the Newton School in South Strafford, VT. Earlier, she taught Special Education in Minnesota at the elementary level. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College, and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree from Dartmouth College.

For the past 15 years, Joey has been deeply involved with writing instruction at the state level in Vermont. She has worked as a writing network leader, and at the Vermont Department of Education, where she has worked closely with schools in need of assistance and with the development of the Vermont grade expectations (GE's) in writing, grades K-12. She served as a content area specialist in developing the New Standards Reference Exam, and later in developing the blueprint for the writing portion of the NECAP, the New England Common Assessment Program. For the last 5 years, she has been deeply involved with professional development for Vermont teachers. She has provided school-based professional development in writing for many schools around the state, working closely with teachers from Kindergarten through Grade 12. Much of this work has involved providing graduate level courses, and all has been tailored to the specific writing instruction needs of the school or district. Joey is the lead author of Writing for Understanding: Using Backward Design to Help All Students Write Effectively, published in 2008 by Authentic Education. A founding member of the Vermont Writing Collaborative, she shares the commitment of her colleagues to helping all students write thoughtfully and effectively.

Joey is a Core Advocate. Core Advocates are educators from across the country who work closely with Student Achievement Partners to develop, curate, and review CCSS resources for teachers and who are eager to support their colleagues in understanding and owning the standards as part of their practice. To learn more, visit the Get Involved section.