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Who is SmartyPantz?

Smarty FamilySmartypantz & smartykidz

Smartypantzing Around

PLEASE NOTE THAT MELISSA’S NEW WEBSITE, www.melissa-lowry-education-coaching.com, WILL LAUNCH BY APRIL 1, 2012.  THIS SITE WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE.

Melissa Lowry, aka SmartyPantz, is happily obsessed with… her children, education, literacy, writing, blogging, talking and tweeting. With a master’s degree in literacy and language arts and a California CLEAR K-8 Credential, Melissa has taught preschool, elementary and middle school and worked as a consultant in the homeschool market. As a former K-8 principal, she spent over four years developing a stellar pair of eyes in the back of her head that come in handy when raising her own son and daughter.

Founder of SmartyPantz Education, Melissa specializes in providing parents, teachers, students and administrators with the tools necessary to build a solid bridge between home and school.  Staying up-to-date on the current research and trends in education and parenting, Melissa works to inform the general public of issues affecting education, children, literacy and families.

With experience giving presentations, conducting staff development workshops, speaking to civic and school groups and leading seminars at education conferences, Melissa is a seasoned public speaker. Melissa presents on a variety of topics including developmental ages and stages, study skills and homework, parent-teacher conferences, communities of caring, engaging parents in the learning process and following one’s dreams, no matter the obstacles. She welcomes opportunities to provide TV and radio commentary, review books and contribute to magazines and online publications.

Moreover, Melissa continually promotes education, literacy development and children’s causes through her membership in Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the California Association for the Education of Young Children, the International Reading Association, the Junior League chapters in Pasadena, Miami, Minneapolis and Houston, and the Circle of Friends to Benefit Kidspace Museum.

Active in her community, Melissa volunteers for Young & Healthy, a Pasadena area non-profit that provides health care services to at risk children, where she is a parent educator.  She also sits on the Regional Board for Reading Partners, a non-profit organization that provides tutoring and intervention for at-risk students.  Melissa serves as a Council member of the California Reading Association and as the President-Elect for the San Gabriel region.  As a member and presenter for Kappa Delta Pi, an International Education Honor Society, Melissa was recently named the State Delegate from California where she will represent the state and at the national convention.  Lastly, Melissa is the Sustaining Advisor to a new Jr. League of Pasadena program, the Early Readers Book Club, in conjunction with the Mother’s Club Family Learning Center in Pasadena.

Never wanting to stray too far from the classroom, Melissa currently substitute teaches, teaches a dental health curriculum to first graders, teaches music for her church’s Sunday School program and volunteers as a teacher for the spirituality program at her daughter’s school. When Melissa isn’t teaching, presenting or spending time with her children and supportive husband, she loves to garden, read, play tennis, ski and, of course, sleep. Her role models are her parents, her biggest indulgence is a bag of McDonald’s French fries, her number one vice is champagne, and she cannot imagine a world without a child’s imagination or books.

Even with years of classroom experience under her belt and ten nieces and nephews, Melissa entered the parenting world with many of the same fears and anxieties that plague other new moms.  While her background gave her tools and strategies to fall back on, it was sharing with other moms, reading a ton of parenting books and undergoing that necessary “on the job” training that helped her become a strong, confident and joyful mother.  Melissa invited Heather, Jennifer and Patina to collaborate with her on Answer Keys because she appreciates their backgrounds in education, respects their approaches to parenting, and knew they would bring relevant, personal and heartfelt advice to the pages of the book.  Melissa hopes that moms will relate to the stories and advice in Answer Keys, and walk away feeling supported and armed with useful parenting tools that will give them the confidence to enjoy the incredible adventure parenthood is meant to be.

Now you know she has the chops to back up the chatter.

You can also follow Melissa on Twitter @smartypantzed.  To learn more about her book, please visit www.theanswerkeys.com.