Lacey Boland - 7/8 ELA Teacher and Advisor

Lacey (she/her) teaches 7/8 English and serves as an 8th grade homeroom teacher and advisor. Immediately prior to joining the GSFS community, Lacey and her family lived for a year in Costa Rica, where she taught literature and writing to students in grades 7-12 at Monteverde Friends School. It's been a joy to help continue this Costa Rica partnership and capstone middle school travel experience now from the Philadelphia side!

Lacey utilizes a workshop approach in the language arts classroom, which encourages her students to see themselves as readers and writers and prioritizes project-based learning that has a purpose and audience beyond the classroom walls. From book publishing projects, to journalism, to playwriting (and performing), Lacey encourages her students to take risks on the page as they build the literacy skills they will need in high school and beyond.

In addition to teaching in public charter and independent school classrooms, Lacey worked for many years as a wilderness instructor and outdoor educator for programs such as Outward Bound and Teen Adventure (through the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program). While Lacey grew up in Philly and attended Friends schools and summer camps all her life, she loves to travel and explore. Some of her other teaching experiences have included teaching in Xela, Guatemala and Qingdao, China. Lacey received her M.A. in English Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and earned her B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from Earlham College. When she’s not teaching, Lacey loves spending time outdoors with her family canoeing, backpacking, and camping (and convincing her friends to come along).

Lacey is mother to two Greene Street students, Jude  and Solomon.