Sayre Posey teaches eighth grade U.S. history at Northwest Middle School, a Title I school in Salt Lake City, Utah. She fosters a classroom environment where students are challenged with rigorous learning experiences and supported through strong relationships. Through Posey’s culturally relevant and project-based teaching practices, students become historians and researchers, building self-esteem and closing the achievement gap. As participants in National History Day, her students have won awards at both regional and state levels for their exhibits .

Posey comes from a family of teachers and is now beginning her ninth year of teaching. After volunteering with at-risk students in after-school programs throughout college, Posey began her teaching career in Baltimore City Public Schools in Maryland before moving to Utah. Her experience in developing literacy-based social studies instruction has been instrumental in supporting linguistically diverse students. Posey is committed to challenging students and eliminating educational inequities.

Posey presented at the 2022 National Council of Teachers of English annual conference on literacy strategies for social justice teaching and was a 2016 Maryland Teacher of Promise. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in history education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and has endorsements in social studies, English as a second language and education technology. She recently completed a Master of Education at Southern Utah University, writing a practitioner-research thesis titled “The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Student Attitudes Towards History.”

Posey enjoys canyoneering in southern Utah and is a classically trained violinist.