Who we are
Meet the voices behind The Invitation: we are five literacy educators who've spent our careers helping teachers fall back in love with reading and writing instruction. Jeff Anderson, Whitney La Rocca, Caroline Sweet, Travis Leech, and Holly Durham are the authors and educators behind the Patterns of Power, Patterns of Wonder, and Patterns of Revision series, as well as Patterns of Analysis. Between them they've spent well over a century in classrooms, PD sessions, and conference halls across the country. What ties them together is a shared belief that grammar isn't a set of rules to memorize but a set of tools writers use to make meaning, and that the best literacy instruction happens through inviting learners into the process. The Invitation is where we bring that philosophy directly to you.
Jeff Anderson
For more than thirty years, Jeff Anderson has been sharing the joy of writing with teachers and students alike. He's the literacy guru, writing numerous game-changing books for language arts classrooms, including Mechanically Inclined, Everyday Editing, and 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know, and the mind behind the invitational grammar process that grew into the entire Patterns of Power series. He also writes middle-grade fiction, including the Zack Delacruz series. Jeff is currently retired, enjoying life in San Antonio, TX.
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Travis Leech
Travis began his career as a middle school teacher and coach in San Antonio, where he discovered Jeff Anderson's work and started bringing invitational grammar into his own classroom. He watched his students come alive in a classroom built on conversation, inquiry, and celebration, and he's been chasing that same energy ever since, first as a gifted specialist and instructional coach, and now as an independent consultant. Travis co-authored two Patterns of Power books for grades 6 through 8 and 9 through 12 and the middle school series of Patterns of Revision. His newest book, Classic Texts in Contemporary Classrooms is now available as well.
Whitney La Rocca
As co-author with Jeff Anderson of Patterns of Power, Patterns of Wonder, and Patterns of Revision, Whitney helps teachers invite their youngest writers to explore author's craft as a tool for meaning-making. A lifelong learner herself, she says she learns something new from kids every single day. Whitney consults on everything from reading and writing workshop to interactive read-alouds and authentic grammar instruction, and she tailors her work to fit whatever a campus or district actually needs.
Holly Durham
Holly has spent thirty years in education, wearing nearly every hat along the way: English teacher, AP Coordinator, instructional coach, content director, and director of strategic planning. That range gives her a rare view of literacy instruction from the classroom all the way up to district policy. Holly believes grammar should be taught in a way that actually sticks, building from where students are rather than where we wish they were. She is the co-author of Patterns of Power and Patterns of Analysis, and she is currently adding to the Patterns of Revision series for high school.
Caroline Sweet
Caroline Sweet and Jeff Anderson go way back, all the way to 1991, when Caroline was a student in his fourth grade class in Austin. Their collaborations have come a long way since raps about clouds and plays based on books. Today, Caroline focuses on authentic grammar instruction in Spanish, having co-authored Patterns of Power en español and Patterns of Wonder en español.
Her career has centered on multilingual learners in bilingual and dual-language classrooms; she's especially passionate about serving culturally and linguistically diverse students and helping every classroom become a place where kids feel safe sharing their stories.