We’re excited to welcome Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver to Skylark on May 2. Dr. Fishman-Weaver is the author of Wholehearted Teaching of Gifted Young Women: Cultivating Courage, Connection, and Self-Care in Schools. This important book explores the critical role school communities play in supporting the social and emotional needs of high-achieving young women. Using a youth participatory action research model, the book follows 20 student researchers from high school through college. This longitudinal study leads to "Wholehearted Teaching," a new framework for cultivating courage, connection, and self-care in schools. Framed with personal stories and filled with practical suggestions, Dr. Fishman-Weaver offers strategies for teachers, counselors, parents, and high-achieving young women as they navigate the precipice of youth and everything after.

Kathryn Fishman-Weaver is an educator, author, and relentless optimist. She is passionate about community and strengths-based approaches to teaching, learning, and research. She is the author of Wholehearted Teaching of Gifted Young Women: Cultivating Courage, Connection, and Self-Care in Schools (2018). Her second book, When Your Child Learns Differently: A Family Approach for Navigating Special Education Services with Love and High Expectations, is scheduled for release later this year. Before becoming a nonfiction author, Kathryn’s first literary love was poetry and readers can hear that fondness for verse across her pages. One reviewer said “It is the rare work, such as this book by Dr. Fishman-Weaver that has the guts to interweave mind and heart and spirit into a tapestry of pure courage and hope.” Kathryn holds a faculty position in the College of Education where she serves as the Director of Academic Affairs for Mizzou K-12.