School Visits, Library visits, and more
Mary is a Visiting Poet!
Let poet and educator Mary E. Cronin engage your students with a healthy dose of “Vitamin P”–poetry! Through the power of poetry, Mary will inspire young readers and writers, make connections to key literacy standards and concepts, and encourage them to delve more deeply into poems by “thinking like illustrators.”
Mary is available for elementary school and library visits and other speaking engagements. As an educator with 30 years of experience, she brings her skills as a Literacy Coach and her joy in working with young children to her work as a Visiting Poet and author.
A former classroom teacher and K-3 Literacy Coach, Mary is also available for Professional Development presentations on employing poetry to strengthen literacy curriculum with her standards-based presentation “Vitamin P: Using Poetry to Boost Literacy Skill Development.” Please inquire about Professional Development fees.
Prices for School Visits:
(Within Southeastern Massachusetts; please inquire about travel fees for schools beyond this area.)
- $300 for one presentation
- $600 for 1/2 Day Visit
- $1200 for a full-day visit
Mary is also available for workshops and speeches on the following content and themes:
- Being an Upstander
- The Power of Letter Writing
- Quiet Hero: The Story of Jeanne Manford and PFLAG
- The Power of Poetry to Reach Young Readers
- Using Picture Books as Mentor Texts in middle and high school
- Stories My Father Never Told Me: Recollections of a Firefighter’s Daughter
Presentations and book signings can be customized to:
- Conferences and conventions, book festivals, Pride celebrations, fire department community events, Touch a Truck events, children’s museums, school assemblies, summer camps
- Special Interest Groups (Firefighting-affiliated organizations; Library, Literacy, and Educator associations and conferences; women’s organizations; PFLAG chapters)
- School settings (elementary, middle school, high school, college, pre-service teachers)
- For school districts using the Savvas MyView literacy program, Mary can teach poetic elements included in her poem “Firefighter Face,” included in the grade 3 curriculum.
- Public venues (libraries, bookstores, book fairs)
Services for authors:
As a seasoned K-3 Literacy Coach and classroom teacher, Mary offers consultations to authors about techniques for strengthening your interactive read-aloud presentations in school and library settings. Contact Mary for rates and details.
Testimonials
“Mary participated in an author program organized by Belonging Books at Barnstable West Barnstable Elementary School. Mary explored the power of poetry with the second graders where they drummed for hope, met snails on the beach, and learned that family is beautiful and diverse. Mary has a wealth of experience and a natural ability to meaningfully engage the students in poetry.”
“Mary visited our school for a wonderful poetry workshop with our third, fourth, and fifth-grade students. Through her personal stories and photos, she was able to connect with students right away and get them excited about reading and writing poetry. Mary also showed our students how to bring poetry to life and helped them become illustrators and everyone had a blast creating images to accompany her work. Our students were buzzing all day about their visit and we can’t wait to welcome Mary back to our school soon!”
“Mary delivered a Poetry Appreciation Workshop for our summer session class of rising second graders. She was so amazing at relating to all students of different backgrounds, as well as keeping them engaged throughout the workshop! Many of our students had not encountered poetry before her visit, and they were all very excited to be able to participate in something new and exciting! “Thinking like an illustrator” was very inspiring for students and will be something I continue to use in my classroom. We can’t wait to have Mary back again!”
“Mary conducted a fabulous poetry workshop with my 8th graders. Through her personal stories, her knowledgeable writing expertise, and her writing activities, she connected with my students and got them excited about reading and writing poetry. I can’t wait to have her back again!”
“Mary Cronin’s special way of connecting with students and staff makes her visits unforgettable. Mary’s time with students is so purposeful, so dynamic and so engaging from the first second to the last. Her unique gift of bringing poetry to life is one that I encourage all schools to give to their students.”
~“You are so passionate about poetry! It is infectious :)”
~“It’s so exciting to reignite the power of poetry in the classroom, especially to spark SEL conversations.”
~“I really feel that poetry helps to level the playing field for many struggling readers, and kids who may feel unsure of themselves, as well as a powerful place for higher level thinking.”
~“This filled my soul! I needed ‘permission’ to use poetry again!”