Shelley Stolitza creates an interactive and creative environment in which students will succeed. photo by Emanuel Morales-Gomez
Shelley Stolitza uses her past experiences to add to the TJ community.
Schools are filled with new things, whether that be new content being taught or new connections being created. English teacher Shelley Stolitza joined the TJ community at the beginning of the school year. Although she may be new to TJ, she is not new to the teaching world, having 20 years of teaching experience. She started off her teaching journey by earning her bachelor’s degree at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. She then went on to earn her master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts, and last year she took graduate classes at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Throughout her time in education, she has gotten her Colorado state teaching license in English Language Arts, is a National Board Certified teacher in Adolescent Education in English Language Arts, and has teaching licenses in several other states. This vast experience is why Amber Wilson, a long-time TJ English teacher, is excited to work with Stolitza. She “brings a fresh perspective and her veteran experiences to the table.” Moreover, Wilson is excited to see “what her contributions will look like for TJ.”
TJ has left a good impression on Stolitza because she “enjoys the school culture and how students seem excited to be part of this community.” The fun atmosphere during Homecoming made her excited to see the energy and school spirit students and staff will bring when spring events, such as prom and graduation, roll around.
Stolitza is looking forward to implementing the new curriculum in the English department this year. She is excited to “teach new books she has never taught before.” Furthermore, she is excited to see how she can relate these books to students and their own experiences. Helping students make a connection between themselves and the books they are reading is one of the reasons why Stolitza wanted to become a teacher. She explained, “there were a lot of things that I liked and didn’t liked about my own English classes as a kid, so I wanted to reinvent the way students can view literature in their lives in my teaching.” Having a love of reading books and literature also made it an easy choice for her to become a teacher.
Wanting students to use what they learn in school outside of the classroom is seen in her teaching style. She tries to make classes more student-led than teacher-led by giving students the opportunity to “generate their own questions and carry out their own conversations.” She wants to avoid making classes lecture and note-taking focused. Instead, she wants to invite students to be part of the conversation and thinking. Stolitza wants to make classes more interactive so that students can effectively use what they learn.
To be hired as a TJ English teacher, she had to go through an interview made up of a panel of four TJ teachers and administration. “Then, they called me back for a sample observation,” she happily said. For this step of the interview, she had to make a lesson plan and present it to some students. After some time had passed, Stolitza was informed that she had gotten the job and that she would be teaching English I and II Honors to freshmen and sophomores. Even though she is relatively new to Colorado, she already has the Colorado spirit by loving climbing, hiking, and trail running. However, these things are paused for now because she is “happily a mom to a two year old toddler.” Having a kid comes with a “lot of child caring needs which takes a lot of time, but I plan to get back to my hobbies soon,” Stolitza stated.
Stolitza wants students to know that, “I am there for them and that I have high expectations for them, but I am a compassionate person that knows they have their own lives outside of English class.” If any Spartans have questions or want to nerd out about literature, go find Stolitza in the English hallway!
