Mary Chiarella was a staff member at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project for a number of years, working with schools throughout NYC and the nation. As a member of the Project, she led think-tanks on lifting the level of writing instruction, reading-writing connections and constructing reading curriculum. Mary decided she wanted the chance to teach again, and her classrooms were, for several years, used as demonstration sites, receiving scores of visitors each year. Mary's work in those classrooms has been featured on many videos, including those published on a DVD, Seeing Possibilities. Mary is co-author of The Art of Teaching: Memoir, published by Heinemann.