Alan Lawrence Sitomer is California's 2007 Teacher of the Year. In addition to being an inner-city high school English teacher and professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University, Mr. Sitomer is a nationally renowned speaker specializing in engaging reluctant readers who received the 2004 award for Classroom Excellence from the Southern California Teachers of English and the 2003 Teacher of the Year honor from California Literacy. Alan's previous books include The Hoopster, Hip-Hop High School, Homeboyz, and The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez. Alan is also the author of Hip-Hop Poetry and The Classics, a text used in classrooms across the United States to engage disengaged students.