Leah Mermelstein taught both in Massachusetts and in New York City before becoming a staff developer at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. While at the project Leah mentored primary teachers in many schools, providing the demonstration teaching, coaching and study groups necessary to help those teachers establish joyful and rigorous Reading and Writing Workshops. Leah is a nationally recognized literacy consultant who specializes in primary reading and writing. She works with students, teachers, principals and other district leaders helping them to design thoughtful plans for the teaching of reading and writing. She is the coauthor of Launching the Writing Workshop (with Lucy Calkins) (Heinemann). She is also the author of The Blur Then and Clarity Find Classroom: K-2 in Connections Writing(Allyn & Bacon). She is currently working on a book entitled Don't Forget to Share: The Crucial Last Step in the Writing Workshop (Heinemann, Feb, 2007). The focus of the book will be how to make share sessions in the Writing Workshop more instructional.
