Emily Raper

Emily Raper knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher, and she never wavered from that dream. She has a passion for learning, and this drove her to become a top-rated teacher every year she was in the classroom. Inspiring students to achieve their best potential fueled the first decade of her professional career. Now, her focus has shifted to inspiring adults to be better teachers by helping them understand best-practices for teaching and learning.

Emily taught 6th grade science and social studies, but she spent most of her time as a teacher in the 7th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. She was an early adopter of using technology in the classroom, and she loves researching to find the best practices to help students learn through the use of effective pedagogy and technology integration.

Emily was able to serve her district as the middle grades ELA district teacher leader for 5 years, pioneering what the role would look like in the district. Through this position, Emily was able to provide mentorship, curriculum support, professional development, and coaching to the middle level teachers in her district. The teacher-leader program helped Emily tap into her love of curriculum and coaching while still spending her day in the classroom. Additionally, since 2014, Emily has been the director of her school’s theater and musical program and has been able to mentor staff in another way through this role.

Emily holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Middle Level Education from Lee University and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Lincoln Memorial University. She served as a board member for the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) from 2014-2019 where she was able to grow her personal learning network (PLN) and explore educational trends from a worldwide perspective. Emily was also selected as the district-level Teacher of the Year in both 2016 and 2019, advancing to the top 27 in the state of Tennessee in 2019.

In February of 2020, Emily moved from the classroom to the role of BLADE Facilitator at a Middle School in Tennessee. BLADE is her district’s 1:1 technology integration plan, and it stands for Blended Learning and Digital Enhancement. Emily’s role is that of a technology integration coach. She works through job-embedded professional development to help teachers implement best practices for teaching in a technology-infused classroom. Additionally, she manages the logistics of her school’s 1:1 program. This position blends her passion for technology in the classroom with curriculum and coaching.

Emily is the Chief Instructional Officer for Premier Educational Technology Consulting where she works with schools, administrators, and teachers on effective pedagogy-first practices for integrating technology into the classroom. You can find out more about Premier Ed Tech and Emily at PremierEdTech.com.

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