Students don’t want to miss a class with Michelle Ryan, who’s known to expect superior work and effort from her students at Randolph High School. Ryan is a gifted teacher with the innate ability to lead students to success by fostering positive relationships built on mutual respect and hard work.
Ryan engages students by developing innovative lessons that require them to build their own views about complicated concepts. Her classroom is a place where students work while having fun.
She is the kind of teacher who can turn a struggling student into a star performer.
“Your class has been an unforgettable experience,” recalled a former student. The student said they have never been so interested in a subject and challenged in that manner.
She was a leader in the implementation of a literacy reading comprehension system this year, working with students on Close Reading of challenging text. As a result, all students were able to pass her rigorous course. The NWEA Reading results for 10th grade students jumped by 19.6%.
Because of her reputation as an enjoyable and effective teacher, Ryan’s elective classes are frequently at maximum capacity. Students see Ryan as a leader and role model. The student body has awarded her “most entertaining teacher” and “most inspiring teacher” for the past four years running.
Ryan is often at the forefront of initiatives to better the lives of students and teachers. She’s dedicated to addressing the issue of education equity within the district and beyond and has implemented several strategies that aim to give every student—regardless of race, gender and abilities—the same access to an outstanding education.
As part of her ongoing work with at-risk students, Ryan played an integral role in the implementation of a $35,000 Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation Grant, which went toward strategies that supported 50 students who sought an alternative high school route. It included creating the first online courses at the school, remedial instruction access and more.
Ryan was selected as the school’s social studies department head and takes the lead on curriculum development. She continually strives to learn and improve her Common Core teaching and learning strategies to better align with district and state goals.
She is an alumna of the University of Massachusetts, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in history in 2006, Master’s in Education in 2008, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership in 2018.
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