Terry Jones (1950-2017) was a director, dramaturg, actor, musician, writer, and thinker, and the godfather of the founder of TeachWriteNow, LLC. His transformative work is the inspiration behind our inter-generational, interdisciplinary approach. We do our work in his honor to continue his legacy.
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Established in 2019The idea for Teach Write Now arose in 2014 in conversations between Jerry Wilson and Leah Velez during shared prep periods at Solorio Academy High School. As Social Studies and Language Arts Teachers, they talked about overlapping content, and dreamed of schedules that would allow the necessary time to effectively teach across disciplines (including math, science, music, and art) and explore intersections between subjects in a way that created authentic learning that was not only more fun, but also more lasting and meaningful.
This idea has evolved into an educational experiment that focuses on reconnecting subjects that have been severed by colonialism and capitalism and refocuses learning based on connection, joy, introspection, and storytelling. |
Join Our Team!
Interdisciplinary Learning Experiences |
Lesson Plans |
We're working on expanding the universe of "Into the Deep" to include more novels!
Are you a Math teacher wanting to amplify Indigenous and African contributions to the field for your students? Are you a dance teacher who specializes in the Orishas? Are you an RPG designer? Are you an artist? Are you a sci-fi fanatic? Are you into alternate historical fiction? Have another area of expertise that you think would contribute to the vision of our projects? |
We're hoping to expand our Teacher Pay Teacher store offerings to include not only more authors, but more disciplines! We want to have each lesson expand through all of the core subjects and beyond!
Are you a teacher looking to be part of an interdisciplinary team? Want to make a little supplementary income? Are you an author hoping to provide mentor texts for student writers? |
We're looking to assemble a small team of passionate people who can commit to 5-10 hours a week
NOTE: This is not a job offering, we are looking for partners! I.E. member-owners of our company.
NOTE: This is not a job offering, we are looking for partners! I.E. member-owners of our company.
Our Teachers & Curriculum Developers
Leah Velez Program Design + Language Arts Lead
Leah is a writer and interdisciplinary teaching artist, with over twelve years of experience with children, pre-teens, teens, adults, and senior citizens. She has taught in public schools, alternative schools, summer camps, prisons, universities, and dance studios. Leah focuses on nurturing creativity--and examining the power structures behind the way we think, create, and move. Leah was born and raised in the city of Chicago, the child of political activists. As a fiction writer, she explores intergenerational trauma, whiteness, monstrosity, the impact of place, family relationships, and power, at the intersections of humor and horror. Creative mediums: Writing, Dance, Visual Arts, Cello, and D&D.
www.leahvelez.com |
Jaclyn Teixeira SiegalScience Lead
Jaclyn is lifelong lover of science and nature. Growing up in a coastal town in Massachusetts, and later moving to Rhode Island and then Oregon, Jaclyn's research centers on the effects of pharmaceutical contaminants on coastal ecosystems. Her work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment. While at Portland State University, Jaclyn was a teaching assistant for two years, instructing undergraduate environmental science laboratories. She is currently an environmental specialist at an engineering consulting firm, working to protect natural resources on roadway and bridge infrastructure projects throughout Oregon. She dances on salsa and bachata teams, and loves gardening, reading, writing, hiking, and playing D&D.
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Jerry J. Wilson, Jr.Social Studies + Pedagogical Lead
Jerry is a scholar, activist, and educator committed to making learning environments productive and welcoming for all students. He has over a decade of experience shaping the cultures and climates of educational settings. Jerry’s work centers on Black teachers and representation, the politics of education, civic learning, and the educational experiences of marginalized students.
Jerry Jameel Wilson Jr. was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. Coming from a large family, he learned to share very early on in life, and continues to buy an extra candy bar on snack runs in order to give one to a friend. Like too many Black children, Jerry remembers the exact moment when school became a place of dread. It was laughter from classmates, not praise from teachers, that motivated Jerry to come to school each day. www.jerryjameelwilson.com |
Community Connections
This 501 c(3) Non-Profit, provides writers and readers opportunities to strengthen their craft, deepen their connection with literature, and share their knowledge with each other and with future generations. Want to improve your writing? Head to Wordcrafters.org
Teach Write Now has collaborated as a sponsor for Wordcrafters' yearly Fiction Fantastic writing competition since 2019. Wordcrafters hosted the first "Into the Deep" program online in August 2020, and the Writers in the Schools program partnered with us again in Winter 2021 to offer "Into the Deep" at Kalapuya High School with teacher Kris Olsen's class. We have also offered one off Role Playing inspired workshops, and summer camps, both online, and in person.
Teach Write Now has collaborated as a sponsor for Wordcrafters' yearly Fiction Fantastic writing competition since 2019. Wordcrafters hosted the first "Into the Deep" program online in August 2020, and the Writers in the Schools program partnered with us again in Winter 2021 to offer "Into the Deep" at Kalapuya High School with teacher Kris Olsen's class. We have also offered one off Role Playing inspired workshops, and summer camps, both online, and in person.
Network Charter began in 2003 and is chartered by the Eugene 4J school district, with the mission of “empowering students to find their strengths and interests by providing a web of community resources that emphasize environmentally and socially sustainable ways of being.”
Network Charter School grew out of the Lane Educational Alternatives Resource Network (LEARN) consortium and the nonprofit community in Eugene. The needs of learners in our community, the private alternative education and charter school laws, and Eugene’s willingness to work with innovative education programs have inspired the creativity and commitment behind NCS. Network Charter offered Into The Deep as a credit recovery program in 2021. |