Blaisdell, Michele » Bio and Contact Info

Bio and Contact Info

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world." Philip Pullman
 
I've always been drawn to educational alternatives: tutoring in my younger brother's multi-grade classroom; graduating from an alternative program within a larger comprehensive high school; completing an interdisciplinary field major in college; homeschooling my own child; tutoring incarcerated adults.
 
As a young adult, I worked at law firms and considered a career as an attorney. In due course, however, I returned to my first passion: education. My father was a public school teacher and administrator, and my daughter now teaches high school, so I guess it's in our blood. I received an undergraduate degree in Humanities from UC Berkeley and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from San Francisco State. Prior to arriving at Pathways, I privately homeschooled my own daughter, who then spent her middle school years as an independent study student in our program. In addition to my work at Pathways, I've been a writing tutor with the Prison University Project community college program at San Quentin.

I joined Pathways in March 2003 and, like most of us here, I wear several hats, including Marin Regional Principal, independent study teacher, and class instructor. 
 
I am grateful to be a part of the diverse, vibrant community that is Pathways.