Sharla Steever

Sharla Steever has been formally involved in the field of education since 1991. She has taught at the elementary level for more than a decade, has taught in the outdoor classroom for many years and currently serves as a Learning Specialist at Compass, Partners in Learning in Rapid City, SD. Steever is a Nationally Board Certified teacher, has received national recognition as a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science Teaching, and served as a Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow for the US Department of Education. During her work as a TAF, Steever focused her energy on helping the Department understand the issues surrounding the Native American Achievement Gap that plagues many states in the center of our country. This work led to her current position at Compass where she co-directs the WoLakota Project (www.wolakotaproject.org) which focuses on supporting and retaining teachers in South Dakota’s highest needs schools. Steever became a Courage Facilitator in 2014. The CTT Seasonal Retreat Series is at the heart of the WoLakota Project. She has presented her work at local, state, regional, national and international settings. Steever has written about her passion in education in her first published book, My Garden Sprouts, A Journal of Classroom Growth, and her second published book, Zebras in the Classroom and Other Moments That Make a Teacher.