ABOUT ANDREA KALCHBRENNER

Andrea is a Secondary Education English Language Arts teacher from the Chicago suburbs who has a Master's degree in Reading and is also one of the Ambassador Coordinators for the Teach Better Team.

Although she began her career teaching high school 14 years ago, she soon realized middle school was her true calling, spending the majority of her time teaching seventh grade. Andrea is passionate about making reading and writing come alive for her students every single day by immersing her students (and herself) in all things related to ELA! She runs a mastery learning classroom utilizing The Grid Method framework with a focus on social-emotional learning.

As an Ambassador Coordinator, she has the amazing opportunity to network with other inspiring educators from across the world on a daily basis. Outside of the education world, Andrea is a professionally-trained dancer who enjoys sharing her love of dance with aspiring ballerinas.

Out of all of her roles, though, Andrea's greatest role is being a Mom to her two children.

ABOUT RAE HUGHART

Rae Hughart is the CXO for the Teach Better Team, Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Middle-Grade Schools, TEDx Speaker, Educator, and author of “Teachers Deserve It” and “Teach Better” books.

Growing up with IEP support after being diagnosed SLD in Reading, Writing, and Math, Rae has worked with other educators and districts on designing mastery learning classrooms nationwide to reach all learners.

Rae continues to facilitate rich discussions with educators around mastering personalized learning, providing targeted student-focused feedback, and the impact of incorporating purpose into student daily learning. Through building partnerships with local businesses, Rae continues to support educators in designing dynamic, impactful, effective, and connected content - showing the impact of teaching beyond the four walls of a classroom and altering a community into an authentic resource for developing leaders.

After being inducted into The Illinois State University Hall of Fame in 2017, Rae was awarded the 2018 First Place Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Award for her innovative educational impact through the Teach Further Model. In 2021, Rae Hughart presented on the TEDx stage challenging educators, students, and community members to consider progressive, data supported practices to further 21st century learners.

TEDx Talk: TeachBetter.com/TEDxRaeHughart