Erin Shadowens

Erin Shadowens is an educator, school leader, and author of Critical Thinking in the Elementary Classroom: Engaging Young Minds with Meaningful Content, published by ASCD in 2023. She spent 10 years teaching kindergarten through 3rd grade, and her classroom work was recognized with the 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award from Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance). Her writing on elementary critical thinking and instructional practice has also appeared in professional education outlets, including an excerpted chapter shared by Edutopia.

After a decade in the classroom, Shadowens moved into school leadership and currently serves as principal of C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy Elementary and Blandford School in Grand Rapids Public Schools, Michigan. She entered teaching through Teach For America and has held roles including second-grade teacher at Nolan Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. Shadowens holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College, a master’s in teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education, and a master’s in elementary curriculum from Teachers College, Columbia University.