ABOUT
HOLLY &
KATIE
& the Teacher Road Trip!
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meet HOLLY
Holly Ehle is a full-time kindergarten teacher and educational presenter with a passion for early literacy and student engagement! She holds a B.A. in elementary education with a kindergarten endorsement (Purdue University), a M.S in Early Literacy (Indiana University), a Colloquy In Theology (Concordia University Chicago), and is currently working on her Ph.D in Reading, Language, & Literacy (Concordia University Chicago). Holly’s favorite parts of teaching include building relationships with students, teaching reading, and flipping her classroom every Friday into engaging and themed learning environments! Holly was the founder of The Spring Teacher Retreat, in French Lick Indiana, and has always been passionate about gIving back to teachers who work so hard in the classroom everyday. After this incredibly challenging school year, Holly felt a call to find a way to uplift and encourage teachers...and together, Katie, Holly, and the ESGI team are making it happen!
meet KATIE
Katie Mense is a children’s author, a nationally recognized speaker, and an energetic Kindergarten teacher in Southern Illinois with more than 15 years of classroom experience. She has a passion for creating fun, hands-on lessons and activities designed to meet the needs of all students. As a student who struggled through school, she truly understands that every student has different needs and learning styles. Katie is a McKendree University graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and later, a Master of Arts degree in education. Katie is a boy mom and loves to spend time in the great outdoors with her 3 sons, Brody, Grady, and Finn. She is very passionate about recognizing and giving back to teachers and loves to share her ideas and teaching experiences on her award-winning blog, "LittleKinderWarriors."
about TRT
TEACHER ROAD TRIP!!! Who’s ready for some summer fun?!! We are!!! And we can’t think of a better way to spend our first weeks of summer than to travel across the country, giving back to YOU...the teachers that have worked SO hard this year doing everything in your power to give your students the best education possible! We’re filling our Jeep with giveaways and heading your way soon! As soon as school is out, Holly will pick up Katie in St. Louis and hit the road (with media crew in tow)! As they make their way through cities like Tulsa, Fort Worth, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta and Nashville, this dynamic duo will be stopping along the way at every exciting roadside attraction on their route, going live on social media to share their adventures! Each day, they will be stopping to interview some of your favorite teachers and educational presenters from across the country, highlight their favorite educational products, and giveaway some amazing prizes to teachers (both online and in-person) who are following along on the road trip! With the support of some AMAZING sponsors, we will also be hosting three incredible in-person Teacher Tailgate Meet-Ups in Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Nashville!At each tailgate event, we will have epic teacher challenges that online and In-person participants can complete to win prizes galore, including iPads and more! And that’s not all!!! Dozens of your favorite educators, who want to support and encourage you too, have created some outstanding mini-PD sessions for you! Teachers, YOU ARE AMAZING!!! We see how difficult this year was for you and we want to appreciate you in action! This TEACHER ROAD TRIP is all about YOU!!