Meet Jane.
Jane Raphael’s career in education has been shaped by her belief that student voice must be at the center of learning, enabling students to feel seen and heard. She has spent almost fifty years as an action researcher, learning how to educate the whole child and to meet their social, emotional and intellectual needs. This research led her to deeply understand how a balanced literacy approach to reading and writing instruction can democratize the school experience for children. Recognizing that when children are talking and writing about ideas that they care deeply about, reading books they want and are able to read, and constructing their thoughts in a social context, motivation becomes intrinsic and the brain becomes fired up… making learning possible.
In 1976, Jane received a BA from Pacific Oaks College; in 1977, she earned an Educational Therapist Certificate from Cedar Sinai Medical Center, Thalians Clinic; in 1996, she was awarded “Outstanding Language Arts Teacher” by the Los Angeles Reading Association; in 2010, Jane earned an Early Childhood Generalist National Board Certification. During her 40-year tenure with Los Angeles Unified School District she served as a Mentor Teacher, Literacy Network Facilitator, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Multi-age Classroom Facilitator, Professional Development Presenter and Demonstration Teacher for UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies, a Demonstration Teacher for Los Angeles Educational Partnership and a UCLA facilitator for Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI).
Additionally, Jane has used circles to build inclusive school communities and to deepen children’s connection to the academic curriculum. She was a pioneer in bringing circle practices to Wonderland Avenue Elementary School and helping to foster circle practices with school staff, parents and families, community members, student leadership groups, and to support school governance.
Jane has two daughters, who are both educators.
Meet Leah.
Leah Raphael served for two decades as a teacher and school leader in urban public schools in Los Angeles, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. She spent six years as a founding middle school principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she facilitated educator development and well-being alongside the implementation of several transformative learning practices, including reading and writing workshop, cognitively guided instruction (CGI), and restorative circles. With her leadership, the school was recognized by the California Office to Reform Education (CORE) for multiple years of students’ high growth in English Language Arts, and reclassification rates for emergent bilingual students were consistently among the highest in the district.
In her work with young people, educators, and families, Leah has long focused on both the troubled history of schools, as well their possibility for disrupting inequity and building social imagination. Over time, she has learned how to structure and facilitate learning spaces built around specific practices and processes that challenge uneven power relationships, and disrupt cultural patterns of white supremacy in organizations. Leah believes that for schools to ultimately realize their potential for all young people, educators must also have consistent opportunities to participate in counter-cultural learning spaces that center reflection, relationship building, and meaningful learning.
Leah holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University in Latin American Studies, Master’s degrees in Education from UCLA and Harvard University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in UCLA’s Urban Schooling program. She earned teaching credentials in elementary education and secondary language arts, as well as K-12 principal licensure. One of Leah’s greatest sources of knowledge and growth has come from being a mother; in this role, she has experienced unparalleled opportunities to practice humility, patience, and joy.