Who is Cris Tovani?

Coming to NBJH on September 30!

Grounded in classroom experience

Grounded in classroom experience

Cris Tovani taught elementary school for ten years before becoming a high school reading specialist and English teacher. A nationally known consultant, she chooses to continue teaching high school students full-time. She has also worked for many years as a staff developer for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), the consortium that has received national acclaim for its work in reading comprehension reform. In addition to teaching and consulting, she has served as an adjunct instructor for the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver.

Cris has authored the books I Read It, but I Don’t Get It (Stenhouse 2000), Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? (Stenhouse 2004), and So What Do They Really Know? (Stenhouse 2011). All three of these books are available for checkout from the professional library in room 330.

What your colleagues are saying...

"Cris Tovani is such an insightful teacher, and is engaging to listen to. It is really helpful that she works in the classroom and had photos to model the techniques she shares with us. One of the major take-aways from the last time I saw her was how to give purposeful feedback on student work. I continue to incorporate her strategies into my own feedback." - Cassi


"Cris Tovani is the real thing! She understands being in the classroom and the time constraints we have as teachers. She also posed a great question to us at our last professional development that has helped me shape my units of study - 'Where does the work and learning that the students do reside in the world?'" - Dana

Want to read some of Cris's latest thinking?

Check out her latest article in EdLeadership, "Let's Switch Questioning Around".