Returning English teacher Michelle Crincoli is devoted to connecting her students to creativity. Ms. Crincoli teaches 11th grade Banned Books and 12th grade Creative Writing. Her ultimate goal is to inspire students’ creativity and instill in them a love for reading, two things she believes “reconnect us to humanity,” she said.

Originally from New Jersey, Ms. Crincoli taught in Los Angeles for 12 years. During the pandemic, she spent time in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. In 2025, finding herself missing Los Angeles and teaching, she returned. 

She has always had a zeal for teaching, she said. 

“I have a huge passion for writing and reading,” Ms. Crincoli said, “so for me, it was a really great idea to spend my days talking about writing and reading, and that’s really where my passion comes from.”

Mrs. Crincoli’s teaching centers around creativity. In creative writing class, she guides the class through different formats of writing —  short story writing, poetry and screenwriting —and for the final project, lets students pick the format about which they are the most passionate.

In her own time, she writes fiction, mainly TV screenplays. She believes in the importance of discipline in making time for one’s writing, she said.

“Spending some piece of your life doing something creative will make your life more fulfilling, and that doesn’t have to be writing,” Ms. Crincoli said. “It could be any of the arts, it can be knitting, it can be just looking at the world in a creative way, but I really think it’s important for people to carve out a time for creativity.”

“If I have a project that I’m working on, I find time — either after school or on the weekends — where I will make sure I’m writing,” she said.

A writing partner, she said, also helps lighten the load.

Like many teachers, Ms. Crincoli taught her English classes on Zoom during the pandemic.

She struggled with online teaching, because she believes that “face-to-face human connection” is necessary for learning. 

Now back in the classroom, Ms. Crincoli states that she has seen a rise in the use of artificial intelligence among students. She believes that the best way to combat overreliance on AI is through strong reading and writing skills.

“Reading and literacy are probably the most important things in our society right now, as we decline in thinking and as phones kind of take over,” she said. “We’re living in an everpresent techie world, and people have moved away from the humanities. We need creativity more than ever to kind of connect to each other.” 

Reading, in particular, helps us learn both about ourselves and the world around us, she said.

“There are some books that we see ourselves in,” she said. “So, if we are somebody who’s struggling with depression and we read a book like The Catcher in the Rye, Holden struggles with depression…We can connect to that.”

Literature reveals things about people around us, as well, Ms. Crincoli said. 

“[It] opens doors to other people’s lives, and that’s how we learn empathy,” she said.

Ms. Crincoli encourages students to follow creative pursuits.

“Spending some piece of your life doing something creative will make your life more fulfilling, and that doesn’t have to be writing,” Ms. Crincoli said. “It could be any of the arts, it can be knitting, it can be just looking at the world in a creative way, but I really think it’s important for people to carve out a time for creativity.”