DR. LAVELLE

Dr. Julie Lavelle is an ELA and Literacy teacher with twenty years of classroom experience across some of the most diverse and demanding educational settings imaginable — including a bilingual transfer school in Boston, an adult community center in Washington Heights, an alternative school for teenagers in recovery, a mandated city program for parents, and the college classroom at Indiana University Bloomington. She is fluent in Spanish and once lived in Chiapas, Mexico — a fact that consistently surprises her students. Dr. Lavelle greets scholars in the hallway outside her classroom every day, setting a tone of welcome and connection before class even begins. Students describe her as compassionate, patient, quick-thinking, and genuinely funny. She keeps Starburst candies in her classroom, pushes students to believe in themselves, and gently but firmly reminds them to do what needs to be done "expeditiously." She believes teenagers succeed when adults truly listen to them and respect their perspectives, effort, values, and talents.