Teacher, Lowell Public Schools

Rachel Kharfen has taught in urban schools for nearly 30 years, 16 of them with the first MicroSociety school in the country (and world). As a MicroSociety educator, she worked with kids to create innovative publishing magazines and newspapers, social action projects, school-wide programs, and private student entrepreneur ventures (including a Travel Agency, which helped teachers book their classroom field trips, and Bulletin Board Buddies, a business that created bulletins and changed bulletin boards for teachers). Rachel was one of the first MicroSociety trainers, helping many schools across the country start their MicroSociety programs. She was also a major contributor and writer of MSI’s materials, including the Handbook and after all of these years, she continues to apply the philosophies of MicroSociety to teaching.