Michelle Oppenheimer

Michelle is passionate about teaching and learning with her students. She has taught middle and high school Core (English and History), Honors English, AP Literature and Composition, Writer's Workshops, and facilitated creation of literary annuals at independent schools throughout the Bay Area. She was a Teaching Fellow and Instructor in the Department of American Studies at Brown University and homeschooled her children for sixteen years, prior to sending them to esteemed public and private universities.

Inside and out of the classroom, she has developed effective strategies to support students with a wide variety of learning differences and styles. Michelle thrives on generating a strong rapport with students, and is dedicated to reaching students as unique individuals, incorporating time management, organization, and study skills into her curriculum, in ways tailored to support and challenge each student. Outside of teaching, Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, taking long walks, reading widely and writing.

She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars, Bennington College, a Master of Arts and is ABD in American Studies, Brown University, and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Women's Studies from Hunter College, City University of New York. Her writing has been published in the Bennington Review, Enizagam, and Four Chambers; her short story, “Tell Me About Her,” was nominated for a 2013 Pushcart Prize. She was the recipient of a scholarship to attend the Napa Valley Writers' Workshop 2014, and workshopped her novella-in-progress with the author Dorothy Allison in 2015. Michelle recently completed her first EdX course through BrownX: The Ethics of Memory. She was a reader for The Tishman Review inaugural Tillie Olsen Short Story Award and a judge for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 2018 (Fiction) and 2019 (Flash Fiction), and 2020 (Flash Fiction). Michelle was a scholarship recipient and participated in The Kenyon Review Writers Workshop for Teachers 2018. Her essay, "Indelible Moments," was published in the Willa Cather Review (Vol. 61.2, Spring 2019), a special issue dedicated to new work inspired by My Ántonia. Her poetry has been published in the Literary Horror Issue of Club Plum (October 2021) and her poem, "Amy Winehouse is Dead," published in Literary Mama (May/June 2022) has been nominated for a 2022 Pushcart Prize. Michelle is the English Department Chair.