Personal Statement

“For me, learning is about the joys and wonders of who we are together and as individuals. When I invest my teaching energies into creating trusting communities, I notice we can be who we are with each other more authentically and consistently. I continue to learn how to listen more deeply and celebrate the gifts of each learner next to me. I find awe in the gifts and offerings of the students I teach.”

Professional Biography

Andie seeks to know who people are within her teaching. From  the junior high students who demonstrated how they lived amidst cultural and gang violence effectively to the culturally-diverse kindergartners who showed her new ways of living as readers and writers, Andie has learned how to teach from her students. She carries a committed focus to see, hear and know each learner as well as discover what creates the community of knowing in each class she is a part of. Reading and writing has served as an entrance into many educational conversations in her career with young and adult learners. Finding ways for learners to communicate what they know from life and the books they read has been a crucial path in her work within literacy. Andie serves as co-coordinator of the Reading Endorsement program and teaches literacy courses in the preservice and inservice programs. She is a National Courage and Renewal facilitator, and she consistently brings the Courage to Teach work to the people she works with.

 

In addition to loving to read and write, Andie loves to mountain bike on gnarly, jump-filled trails like 338 Loop and Hide and Seek at Sandy Ridge up on Mount Hood with her partner. She also loves to blog with her teen daughter on their reading adventures: http://bookpeepwonders.blogspot.com/.

 

Research Interests

Digging deeper into communities always inspires Andie. Currently she is exploring how learning communities are positively impacted by students with traumatic life experiences, and how constructive literacy practices can positively invite students more deeply into healing.

Recent Publications

Andie regularly contributes to Choice Literacy.

 Yeigh, M, Shagoury, R, and Cunningham, A. (2011). Testing What Matters Least: What We Learned When We Took the Praxis Reading Specialist Test. Rethinking Schools.

Cunningham, A. (2006). Synthesizing Butterflies: Teaching Reading Strategies to Kindergartners. Choice Literacy: Holden, ME.

Cunningham, A & Shagoury, R. (2006). Write from the Start: Conferring with Young English Language Learners. Choice Literacy: Holden, ME.

Cunningham, A. & Shagoury, R. (2005). Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies for the Youngest Learner. Stenhouse Publishers: Portland, ME.

Academic Credentials

M.A.T. 2000 Lewis and Clark College
B. S. 1985 Colorado State University