Erin Carstensen

Erin Carstensen began her teaching career in 1998 as a Teach for America Corps member, teaching fourth to eighth grade before pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work at UC Berkeley. She returned to be part of the founding faculty of Essex Street Academy (ESA), a small high school located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.  It was at ESA that Erin was introduced to the world of progressive education and was involved in all areas of school design and development, including: creation of a schoolwide scope and sequence; curriculum development; design of performance based assessments; classroom observations and feedback; creation of non-traditional approaches to discipline; and professional development rooted in solving problems of practice through collaborative work.  She spent 12 years teaching there before becoming the Principal in 2010.  

In 2016, Erin joined Community Roots, a Roots ConnectED learning site, as the Middle School Co-Director.  She is passionate and committed to the school’s focus on anti-bias education and inclusion.  In her role at Community Roots, she has lead the overhaul of the Humanities curriculum - including major shifts in school approach to literacy instruction and assessment, worked to redesign the 6-8 approach to literacy intervention, initiated the formalized use of Restorative Practices in schoolwide discipline practices, and currently teaches Sexual Health with an anti-bias approach.  She also serves as a member of the schools’ Anti-Bias Education Collective, a group of faculty that create and facilitate professional development focused on anti-bias education. 

Erin believes deeply in the work that Roots ConnectED does to support schools in becoming transformative, anti-oppressive spaces that honor both the community and the individual. She looks forward to the opportunity to collaborate with school leaders and educators who share a commitment to realizing this vision.