My Story
I am a high school history teacher with over a decade of classroom experience teaching U.S. History I (including Pre-AP), U.S. History II, and World History, primarily within urban education. Over the years, I became increasingly frustrated with curriculum that was either overly scripted, disconnected from students, or lacked the rigor and flexibility needed in real classrooms.
As districts across the country began shifting toward High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIMs)—particularly in English, Math, and Science—my own district followed suit. Rather than accepting that Social Studies would eventually be handed over to a one-size-fits-all, company-designed model, I chose to challenge the status quo.
I knew how students experienced many HQIMs: rigid pacing, limited voice, and an emphasis on compliance over thinking. In response, I began to redesign, rethink, and intentionally organize my curriculum to not only meet district expectations, but to surpass what commercial models were offering. My focus was simple—build curriculum around how students actually learn best.
Through district review, it became clear that what I had submitted far outweighed any company-designed model available on the market. As a result, not only did we avoid the adoption of an external HQIM in Social Studies, but our department retained full ownership over an educator-designed, classroom-tested curriculum.