Anne Schober

Born in Birmingham, Alabama and having moved around the south and Midwest for most of my elementary years, I moved to Lancaster, PA when I was thirteen years old. I graduated from Gannon University in 1983 with an Associate’s degree in Medical Assisting and from Millersville University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in English Education.

I worked for fifteen years in both public education and private educational facilities. I served as the English Department Chairperson for eight years. In July of 2007, I was picked from over 10,000 applicants to work with Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers Foundation and am currently one of 400 educators worldwide certified as a Freedom Writer teacher. For the past eight years, I have also worked as an adjunct for the Pennsylvania Writing Institute, held at Millersville University. In August, 2010, I became a published author with the release of Teaching Hope, a compilation of stories from the classroom written by the Freedom Writer teachers along with Erin Gruwell. In May, 2014, my memoir of my classroom experiences, along with the voices of over 20 of my former students, was published by Library Tales titled Heart Prints.

I am currently employed with Thom Stecher and Associates teaching several Master level classes: Project Based Learning, Writing to Heal and Making Connections through Reading and Writing. I created Connections Count! in 2014, which is an interactive presentation for educators, administrators, school boards, and pre-service teachers. I have been married to my husband, Mike, for 30 years and we have three children: Michelle, 28; JoAnne, 26; and Stephen, 21.