Allison Zmuda

Allison Zmuda's focus is to help every educator create a competent classroom—a learning environment where all participants believe it is possible for them to be successful—in which what teachers and students are expected to know and be able to do is challenging, feasible, and worthy of the attempt. Zmuda also specializes in short- and long-range continuous improvement planning, evaluating the degree to which structures, policies, and job descriptions support the work of a school to achieve its mission.

Zmuda began her career as a public high school teacher in Connecticut. Her curricular and instructional experiences led her to write her first book, The Competent Classroom (2001). Her second book, High Stakes High School: A Guide for the Perplexed Parents (2001), welcomes parents into the conversation about standards, assessment, and high-stakes testing. Transforming Schools: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement (2004), cowritten with Robert Kuklis and Everett Kline, looks at the challenges and promise of engaging in building and systemwide improvement. Zmuda's fourth writing project was as lead co-author of the ASCD Schooling by Design Action Tool (2007). Her fifth book, Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the 21st Century Learning Imperative (2008), explores the power of libraries as doorways to creating rigor and relevance in student learning.

Zmuda is a faculty member in ASCD's Understanding by Design cadre and also runs her own consulting firm, The Competent Classroom. She has presented at workshops and conferences across the United States and Canada. In addition, Zmuda hosts "Insider, Outsider," a web-based radio show. She resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with her husband and her two children.

Featured Book

Students at the Center: Personalized Learning with Habits of Mind

Based on their exciting work in the field, Bena Kallick and Allison Zmuda map out a transformative model of personalization that puts students at the center and asks them to employ Habits of Mind.

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