Sandra Athans

Sandra K. Athans is a National Board Certified literacy specialist, academic standards expert, and educational consultant with over fifteen years of elementary classroom experience. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in Elementary Education from Manhattanville College, and an M.S. in Literacy (Birth–Grade 6) from Le Moyne College, and is certified to teach secondary English. In addition to her work as a classroom teacher and literacy specialist, she has served as an adjunct professor in graduate-level literacy programs at local colleges and universities and was recognized as the 2014 New York State Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year.

Athans is the author of numerous teacher-practitioner resources on literacy instruction, including Quick & Easy Strategies for Close Reading and Writing (Scholastic, 2020), Quality Comprehension, and Fun-tastic Activities for Differentiating Comprehension Instruction. She has also written children’s nonfiction such as Tales from the Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans and Secrets of the Sky Caves: Danger and Discovery on Nepal’s Mustang Cliffs, both high-interest, photo-informational books that have received strong critical attention and honors, including nominations for Outstanding Science Trade and as an Honor Book for the South Asia Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature.