Putting Out Fires, Saving the Sparks is your backstage pass to what really happens in middle school. Join Janel Brown in her classroom and in the teacher’s room to experience a behind-the-scenes, VIP tour that you’ll never get at Back to School Night.

Middle school matters. It sets kids up for academic success in high school and beyond. But middle school isn’t working- not for kids, not for parents, and not for teachers. Inspired by her front-lines teaching experience, Janel Brown breaks down the middle school blame-game without taking sides. Each story in this book will drive the conversation we need for our kids: what we can do to create positive change.

The conversational, first-person stories in this book will draw you in with their unique blend of real-life memoir and honest analysis. Exploring topics such as how high performing teamwork can revolutionize middle school, why principals need to run schools the way great managers lead successful businesses, and what it’s like to teach a Zoom class when your attendees are eating breakfast in their PJ’s, Putting Out Fires, Saving the Sparks will ask you big questions and inspire you to reimagine the middle school you care about.

Janel Brown is a dual credentialed middle school teacher in California. She has taught in multiple states across the USA and internationally. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature. This is her first book.