Sarah Starr

Sarah Starr teaches courses in Secondary English Methods and the Capstone Experience. For the past 10 years with USC, she has served as a field coordinator for student teachers in secondary schools. Sarah received her BA from Washington University in Saint Louis with a degree in English and dramatic studies; she received her MA in English from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Sarah has 20 years of experience teaching in both conventional public schools and progressive private schools at the middle and high school levels. At the Sequoyah School in Pasadena, she directed a middle school program that included multi-age classrooms with integrated, project-based learning focused on real-world inquiry. She created and directed the environmental education program, the River School, at Friends of The Los Angeles River where she continues to serve on the Director’s Board. She also serves on the board of the Greenway Arts Alliance, a non-profit theater and public/private partnership, based at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.

Concurrently, Sarah works with the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national school reform organization. In Los Angeles, she is a school “coach” for many comprehensive high schools that are forming smaller learning communities. She provides professional development for faculties and administrators. She focuses on how school designs and community partners can foster success at the classroom level and how teaching methods can create student-centered, personalized learning.