“You are the most wonderful teacher I have ever had and your come to Jesus moments have helped me through a lot of things in my life, as I have those moments very often in my life! You helped me be able to find my voice and showed me that my voice is powerful!”

“Some of the students don’t get the love and support they need at home, and I am certain the support Ms. Massey gives to her students could be the very thing that a student needs to feel a little kindness in the world and motivate that student to make good choices. ”

“Her passion for literature was contagious with both my son and now my daughter. Her desire to see students grasp the power of the words they read is compelling. I often said to her if she ever decided to have an adult book club I would be in” ”

“I wanted to email you and thank you for having us read Dostoyevsky last year in AP Lit — I loved it so much that I’ve decided to not only take a Dostoyevsky-specific literature class next semester, but also potentially minor in Russian and Slavic literature (what a path of studies!). We will be reading Crime and Punishment again, along with The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot. I cannot wait to take it & read more of Fyodor’s works! ”

“I had walked into space that had all the educational luxury, sophistication and elegance of a high-tuition private school but also followed all (well, eghm, some) of the policies and procedures of a big, public urban high school. Her students’ products and testimony screamed every day of “master teacher.”

But adult to adult! Welcoming Ms. Massey back from her international travels one summer, stimulated and deep, I was catapulted in an intellectually curious zone of human reflection about what it means to be a citizen of the USA a student of the world. In that 30-minute conversation, I was inspired to reflect about my own values for the entire year. Could the kids be experiencing this same stroke of genius?

I have come to understand that every once in a very blue moon there roams the Earth a teacher who earns “beloved” status by the gifted community. Ms. Massey earned this beloved status by her gifted community through deep and complex intellectual curiosity, rigor and discourse long before GT was ever a “thing” at East. Ms. Massey brings new meaning to the phrase “student driven instruction,” which is a rare commodity in a world of rules and procedures.

So, have a conversation with Ms. Massey. Be taught by her. Learn to love intellectualism, curiosity and what it means to be intense and gifted in a whole new way.”