Shanna Peeples

Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, took the road less travelled on the way to her classroom. She worked as a disc jockey, medical assistant, and journalist before teaching, as she says, chose her. Shanna taught middle and high school English in low-income schools in Amarillo, Texas for 14 years. Because Amarillo is a resettlement area for refugees, students as diverse as the Karen people of Myanmar to the Bantu people of Somalia, make up classes in her former assignment at Palo Duro High School. Shanna recently graduated with a doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is the John G. O'Brien Distinguished Chair in Education at West Texas A&M University. Her book, Think Like Socrates: Invite Wonder and Empathy Into the Classroom, was recently chosen by the National Education Association Foundation and PDK International as a book choice for their membership.