Hi, my name is Katie Speetzen, and I'm an accidental middle school expert. I've spent my career as a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, holding my Master's in Education from DePaul University and my BA in History from Northwestern University. I've worked in urban and suburban school districts in all aspects of the socio-economic landscape and discovered that nacho day cannot be beat, regardless of the school lunch provider.

My daughters are both in middle school, and neither are alike. Their education journeys are nothing alike, their personalities are nothing alike, and even their taste buds are 100% different. One will eat mac and cheese while the other won’t, flip-flop and reverse it for ravioli. Again, they’re 11 and 13, not 2. Whatever. They’re also terribly interesting people, much like my husband who can be found only doing things related to hockey.

I’ve also been known to dabble in stand-up comedy (but not lately because I’m lazy), chill with Zelda the Wonderpup (TM), pretend to learn how to properly clean the shower (HA!), read horror novels, and my friend Cathy recently made me join a bootcamp gym, so god help me.