About Kailynn Barbour
Kailynn Barbour graduated from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education in 2013, where she was a recipient of the Nancy Higginson Dorr Award for Excellence in Education. From 2013-2021, she worked at Franklin High School in Somerset, NJ as an English/ Language Arts teacher. She has taught 11th Grade World Literature, 12th Grade CEP English in conjunction with Raritan Valley Community College, a Poetry Today elective, and 12th Grade ELA Essentials. Additionally, she had the honor of being the advisor of Epiphany, Franklin High School’s literary magazine, for five years. During her tenure as advisor, Kailynn modernized the high school literary magazine and launched its online presence, allowing artists of many mediums to participate and contribute to the school's creative scene.
During Kailynn’s first year of teaching, she was assigned to teach her school’s “Poetry Today” elective for the second semester of the year. While she had focused her undergraduate English degree on Creative Writing through many poetry classes at Rutgers, teaching a poetry class allowed her to see just how powerful of a tool poetry could be for young teenagers finding their voices. This experience also allowed her to witness her students using poetry as a way of coping with both their own lives and current events. During her time at Franklin, Kailynn utilized both the Poetry Today elective and Epiphany as safe spaces for her students to articulate their feelings about topics such as race, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and more.
Currently, Kailynn resides in central New Jersey with her wife and two children. She is taking a bit of time off from teaching to focus on both her family and her writing. In addition to tutoring, editing, and freelance writing, Kailynn is also available to speak at educational conferences and events.
During Kailynn’s first year of teaching, she was assigned to teach her school’s “Poetry Today” elective for the second semester of the year. While she had focused her undergraduate English degree on Creative Writing through many poetry classes at Rutgers, teaching a poetry class allowed her to see just how powerful of a tool poetry could be for young teenagers finding their voices. This experience also allowed her to witness her students using poetry as a way of coping with both their own lives and current events. During her time at Franklin, Kailynn utilized both the Poetry Today elective and Epiphany as safe spaces for her students to articulate their feelings about topics such as race, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and more.
Currently, Kailynn resides in central New Jersey with her wife and two children. She is taking a bit of time off from teaching to focus on both her family and her writing. In addition to tutoring, editing, and freelance writing, Kailynn is also available to speak at educational conferences and events.
