What is a BookJam?

A BookJam is a class set of three engaging young adult books with teacher materials that take a student-centric approach to learning. The materials are standards-based and geared toward achieving core curriculum objectives. Also included is a dynamic spectrum of 21st-century, hands-on learning projects. The Alan Sitomer BookJam, written by an award-winning teacher and YA author, will help students nail core standards, raise test scores, and return teachers to a position of strength. To find out more about what's included in a BookJam, see our products page.

Who created the BookJam?

Author: Alan Sitomer

Alan Lawrence Sitomer was named California’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. He is also the critically acclaimed author of numerous books that engage young adult readers. In 2004, Alan received the prestigious award for Classroom Excellence from the Southern California Teachers of English and in 2003 he was honored as Teacher of the Year by California Literacy. As an educator, Mr. Alan (as his students like to call him) works as an inner-city high school English teacher in Los Angeles as well as a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. His young adult novels include The Hoopster, Hip-Hop High School, Homeboyz, and The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez, published by Disney. Alan is also the author of Hip-Hop Poetry and the Classics, a text used in classrooms across the United States to engage disconnected students.

Senior Developer: Joe Fatheree

Joe Fatheree is a nationally recognized filmmaker and educator. His television work has been seen on PBS and the Documentary Channel. He is the recipient of three Mid-America Emmy Awards for producing and writing. In 2007, he was named the Illinois Teacher of the Year. He has also received the Who’s Who Teacher Award, been nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year Award, and honored for excellence in Teaching by the NEA, Eastern Illinois University, and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He works as an educational consultant and is a nationally recognized speaker. He is an advocate for the disenfranchised and spends his free time creating educational opportunities for children living in poverty.

Senior Developer: Terry Kaldhusdal

According to Terry Kaldhusdal, the 2007 Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year, the most important thing he needs to teach his students is how to think. To guide his students he’s created a website (Mysteries of Aztalan), coordinates a mock election for students across three school districts, coordinates an art and writing conference for Southeastern Wisconsin and a state-wide writing conference at the Milwaukee Art Museum, and takes his students on a minimum of 10 field trips each year. The former newspaper and radio journalist recently completed his third documentary for the Wisconsin State Historical Society, “Thinking Like a Historian.” His favorite book is The World According to Garp, and he sits on the Board of Directors for his local public library. Terry met his wife, Janet, in New Zealand and is the father of three children.

Senior Developer: Jeanne Sesky

Jeanne Sesky is a literacy educator with experience branching from elementary students to adults. Over the last 18 years, she has dedicated her work to "students of promise." As a teacher and reader, she has developed a love for adolescent literature and its power to affect young lives. It's Jeanne's belief that adversity is not an obstacle to learning. She wishes to inspire the generation to embrace their unique abilities and talents through a love for the printed word. Jeanne works in a large urban school district in southern California as a literacy curriculum specialist. She has worked nationally as a facilitator with Janet Allen's Literacy Leadership Collaborative and as an author of Plugged-in to Reading. Presently, she is a facilitator for UCI's Summer Literacy Program and presented at the 2009 Orange County math conference on "The Language of Math."

Senior Developer: Jody Polleck

Jody Polleck, Ph.D. is a literacy professor at Hunter College and teaches 10th grade English and facilitates professional development in New York City. Her research focus is on struggling urban adolescent readers and writers. She has trained teachers at the state and national level and developed regional curricula for reading, English, and social studies.

Senior Developer: Melissa Hughes

Melissa Hughes has been teaching high school English and reading for nine years. She began her teaching career in her hometown of Davenport, Iowa, and spent six years teaching for Chicago Public Schools. Currently she is a founding teacher of Reading in the Language Arts and Survey Literature at TEAM Englewood Community Academy, where she is the sponsor for the Mayor Daley Book Club and the school's poetry team.

Senior Developer: Darci B. Keleher

Darcy Keleher has spent the last 10 years as a special education teacher, where she has dedicated herself to providing an exemplary education for her students. Darci has inspired her students to reach their highest potential by teaching self-advocacy skills and compensatory strategies to reach success. Through the development of collaborative programs, differentiated instruction, and positive communication with general education teachers, she has opened up doors for her students. Presently, Darci is a special education coordinator for the Santa-Monica Malibu Unified School Disctrict. It is her desire to continue to work toward providing all the opportunities for success to students in special education.