Department of Education
lthurston@mymail.marylhurst.edu

Education

MS, State University of New York, Brockport
BA, State University of New York, Genesco

Courses Taught

Writing & Literacy in the Content Area

About

Laurie Thurston taught English language arts within a Rochester, New York program for disengaged high school students that she developed and directed. In addition to her 17 years in the classroom, she spent two years as an instructional leadership coach for the Oregon Small School Initiative, working to sustain the development of small schools across the state.

Laurie has presented at several conferences, sharing best practices and strategies for reaching the reluctant reader and writer. Organizations that have invited her to speak include the New York State Alternative Network Association, the National Council for Teacher Educators, the Oregon Association of Teacher Educators and the National Association for Multicultural Education. She penned a regular column on teaching in the Alternative Network Journal, as well as several other published articles about teaching and writing, including an essay in Lewis & Clark's Democracy & Education. One of her essays was published in spring 2012 in the book What Teaching Means: Stories from America's Classrooms.

Currently, Laurie is back in the classroom, teaching language arts and working as a teaching/learning facilitator at LEP Charter School in Portland.

.