About the Author

Rachael Ayers-Arnone

My name is Rachael Ayers-Arnone. I was born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa. While earning my graduate degrees, I taught full-time and was pregnant with my second child when I graduated with my master’s and fourth child when I defended my dissertation. My master’s thesis focused on advertisements and adolescence, while my Ph.D. focused on culturally relevant teaching in the art room.

I have a total of four kids; an eighteen-year-old daughter Elizabeth, two sixteen-year-old sons (one biological, Jack, and one stepson, Matisse), and a nine-year-old son, Rocco. The kids get along well enough to break into spontaneous song just about anywhere! Teaching in Iowa City for twenty years, I have taught everything from elementary through high school, with the bulk of my years at the junior high level. I have been teaching full-time junior high for the last nineteen years, with approximately 180 students each trimester.

Professional Achievements:

University of Iowa Bachelor’s Degree (2000)

University of Iowa Master’s Degree (2004)

University of Iowa Doctorate Degree (2012)