Rosie Reid grew up in rural Northern California. She didn’t have electricity until she was eight years old, the nearest stoplight was a two hour drive, and her family often didn’t own  a car, so books became her escape and her best friends. Growing up, teachers took an interest in Reid and helped her beyond their job descriptions to be the first in her family to go to college. She became a teacher to pay this forward. She has participated in many teacher research groups that have fostered a focus on inquiry, experimentation, life-long learning, and equity. 

After becoming Nationally Board Certified, she began working as a support provider for teachers pursuing certification at Stanford’s National Board Resource Center and within her own district. She has been actively involved in the Bay Area Writing Project as a Teacher Consultant since 2006, where she works to improve the teaching of writing throughout her region. Reid is an English Learner (EL) advocate; she helped form her school’s EL review team, serves as the EL representative on her Site Council, and is a presenter for district-wide professional development targeting the needs of ELs. She has taught every level of high school English and English Language Development, and when teachers get together to figure out who will teach what next year, she often gets whatever’s left, because she likes it all. Her personal experience as a foster, adoptive, and biological mom of a multiracial family with a range of sexualities and academic abilities has heightened her awareness of issues of equity.  

Reid teaches English at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Westmont College and a Master of Arts in Multicultural Urban Secondary Education from University of California, Berkley.