Ruth Culham, Ed.D., is the President of The Culham Writing Company and former Unit Manager of the Assessment Program at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, Oregon. She is the recognized expert in the traits of the writing assessment field and author of 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and Up (Scholastic, 2003) and 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades (Scholastic, 2005) plus other trait-based resources. Her most recent work has focused on professional development videos and DVDs for grades 3 and up educators; the primary DVD for K-2 educators is due Spring 2007.
Ruth creates and conducts teacher workshops and designs national/international institutes for writing assessment and instruction. She has a highly regarded reputation for lively and engaging workshops, depth and breadth of subject knowledge, sharing practical and useful strategies from the hundreds of institutes she conducts, and a deeply rooted commitment to classroom teachers and students—the hallmark of her training sessions.
The highlight of her 19 years of classroom teaching was when Ruth was named Teacher of the Year in Montana. She has specialty degrees and current certification in Library Science and Elementary, Middle, and Secondary English Education, including a doctorate in Educational Administration.