A 19-year veteran teacher, Janiel Wagstaff says teaching runs in her family. During her second year teaching, she began offering workshops for teachers upon finding the benefits of daily writing with her second graders. She has continued to consult ever since, achieving significant attention as a national literacy expert. While continuing to teach, Janiel has written 8 books, 5 for Scholastic, and completed three extensive video-training programs detailing her literacy teaching with her K-3 students. She regularly teaches at the graduate and undergraduate University level and has served as the creator/director for the University of Utah’s Early Childhood Education/Certification Program. These days, she continues to write books and articles while offering workshops, seminars, presentations and in-classroom demonstrations nationwide.

   Janiel is an award-winning teacher who has taught in diverse areas of the nation including Salt Lake City, Utah, Washington D.C., and Birmingham, Alabama. Based on these experiences, she’s able to speak about methods that work for all types of learners. Though most of her years have been spent in K-3 classrooms, Janiel has worked as a Literacy Specialist/Coach K-6. Most recently, she was a literacy specialist for Davis School District in Utah, serving 56 elementary schools with lesson modeling, coaching and workshops.

   Janiel is a true practitioner. Colleagues call her “a teachers’ teacher.” She fills her writing and workshops with reliable, research-based strategies that truly work. While presenting, she makes her points using students’ samples and real video models and brings along hands-on displays of student work. She relates to teachers with her “down to earth” classroom-based approach, fast pace and great sense of humor!! All of this provides educators with an engaging experience that motivates them to make real changes in their own practice!