about Jonah Steinhart

As a parent and teacher, I have spent much of my life learning how to connect with young people and help them find their identity and voice.

A great deal of my experience comes from teaching English and journalism at Tamalpais High, a public high school in Marin County, CA.  I currently have eight former students working as full-time professional journalists for publications including The New Yorker, the Financial Times, and the Washington Post.

Across two decades, I have taught both Advanced Placement and mainstream classes. In doing so, I have supported a diverse group of nearly 3,000 teenagers, from privileged high achievers in perfectionist bubbles to students who have suffered from trauma, substance abuse, homelessness, and/or mental health issues to kids everywhere in between, with all manner of strengths and struggles. I have extensive experience supporting LGBTQ+, BIPOC, EL, and low-income students.

I also pride myself on my ability to work with special needs students. School comes pretty easily to my two youngest children, but my eldest suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a rare genetic syndrome that required her placement in a private residential school at age 9. I am meticulous in how I accommodate all my students, whether their specific learning needs are documented in an IEP or 504 or not.

Every year of my career, in every class, I have taught students the personal essay. It is my favorite type of writing to teach. All students have something original and important to share, and helping kids find their focus and their voice remains one of my greatest joys.

I particularly enjoy sharing my expertise with private clients, in a setting that affords me much more time to connect with a student one-on-one, with consistently rewarding results.

Awards and Credentials

  • B.A., History, Stanford University

  • M.A., Education, University of San Francisco

  • Co-founder of two Internet companies, both sold to publicly traded companies.

  • Teacher of the Year, Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley, CA

  • Journalism Adviser, The Tam News, 2006-2019:

    • Eight former students now working as full-time journalists for the Financial Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Fierce Biotech, the Austin American-Statesman, Max Preps, and The New Orleans Times-Picayune, respectively.

    • Over 30 individual Story of the Year awards won in the prestigious Columbia and National Scholastic Press Association nationwide competitions, including multiple personal essays.

  • President, Prader-Willi Homes of California, helping develop housing for the disabled.