About Marisa
Instructional coach, presenter, and classroom teacher.
Seven years in, I wanted to quit.
I was a classroom teacher with rows of desks, an average of 150 hours a year of grading outside of contract hours, and students with so many needs I didn’t know how I could reach them all. I loved it… and was exhausted and defeated by it.
If you’ve been in education for a hot minute, you know this story. You love the students, but the overwhelming workload, increasing expectations, and unending ideas leave you feeling, well, done.
But after important conversations with colleagues, honest discussions with my students, and a fair amount of failed attempts I figured out the actual problem:
What felt like permanent restrictions or immovable red tape turned out to be temporary obstacles that, with enough desire to just TRY, could be moved.
So that’s what I did.
I turned those rows of desk into a DIY flexible seating classroom, decreased my 150 hours of at-home grading into zero, and put the IEP, 504, and ELL students into the driver seat. My students and I, we’re making change happen TOGETHER.
My story is mine, but it’s also like MOST educators’ story.
Our only limitations are those we accept. I’m done accepting them.
— Marisa E. Thompson
This is why I’m on a mission to challenge and equip teachers and educational leaders to do the same.
When I’m not reimagining curriculum with my own students, I’m presenting at conferences like CATE and CUE and other state and national conferences, appearing on podcasts like Cult of Pedagogy and Beyond the Curriculum, and offering ideas and practical tools as an instructional coach at University of San Diego and my local school district.
I was named Innovative Educator of the Year in 2019 by CUE San Diego and won the Ed Innovate Live Pitch competition in 2019. I love LOVE chatting with other educators, so find me in real time on Twitter @MarisaEThompson or IG at @marisaethompson.
“You are a spark of inspiration for my own practice and vocation as an educator. I've been feeling similar disillusionment with education as we know it, and your story is the breath of fresh air that I have needed. You have made equitable, engaging, meaningful education so much more possible for the rest of us!”
— Tucker, ELA Grade 8
A few other things that don’t limit Marisa:
Her awesome kids who keep her fun and her amazing husband who keeps her laughing.
Traveling the world (she’s been to over 20 countries!) with friends, family, and students.
She can identify See’s candy by their shape and decoration. Don’t believe her? Send her a box and she’ll Vox you back with the right info. True story.
Voxer because she can take her early morning ideas and turn them into a collab session with colleagues in her district and around the country.
Spending the entire day at the beach boogie boarding and watching her kids play.