Teachers Pay Teachers congratulates and cheers Rachel Lynette! We are so excited to announce that Rachel is our second TpT Teacher-Author to pass the ONE MILLION dollar mark with profits from her TpT store!
We couldn’t wait to sit down and talk with Rachel.
How does it feel to have accomplished this momentous milestone?
I’m going to go with grateful, and thrilled.
I feel incredibly grateful to the teachers who buy my products. You all work much harder than I do, often under 
challenging circumstances. I am truly in awe of all of you. As a thank you to TpT buyers, I am holding a big TpT Gift Card Giveaway on my blog, so please hop on over, enter the giveaway and pick up the freebie.
I am also grateful to Paul (TpT’s Founder) and the TpT team for all of their devotion and support. And I am grateful to my TpT colleagues, who inhabit my virtual teacher’s lounge, many of whom have become friends. (See a few of Rachel’s grade 3-5 TpT Teacher-Author friends in the top image.)
I am thrilled that my resources are being used so widely. Like many of you, one of the main reasons I chose to go into teaching was because I wanted to make a difference. TpT has allowed me to play a small part in making a difference in the lives of thousands of teachers and students, and that is truly thrilling.
2. What’s your secret? What do you feel you bring to educators?
I think I have a knack for looking at a standard or skill and coming up with a unique, fun, and effective way of reinforcing it. I am all about saving teachers time, so I do my best to make my products easy to use. I also really value creative and critical thinking skills. I think that the future of our planet depends on them, so I try to put them into my products whenever possible.
3. What do you mark as your TpT tipping point?
For me, it was the task cards. When I started making task cards in early 2012, there were very few of them on TpT, and the few that I did find were all for primary. I started making them and my followers really liked them… so I made more and within a few months I found myself near the top of the TpT Top 100, which was a total surprise. Task cards are a great fit for me personally because they are usually on the shorter side as products go and I don’t have much of an attention span. I also love the challenge of finding an effective way to present a standard or skill in a task card format.
4. How do you see TpT changing the face of education?
TpT sellers brought task cards to the classroom, as well as interactive notebooks, craftiviities, and a whole host of other types of resources that you can’t find at the teacher store or in textbooks. A few weeks ago I went into our local teacher store (which it turns out is closing down – I’m sure you can guess why). I was looking for close reading resources. They didn’t have any. TpT has plenty. When teachers were expected to adapt to Common Core and yet were given no resources, where did they turn? And how about the way that many classrooms are decorated these days? Those appealing, colorful classroom themes come right from TpT. TpT even plays a part in the way that teachers manage their classrooms. There are products, of course, but many sellers also have blogs where they do an amazing job of sharing not just classroom management strategies, but also DIY projects, character education, ways to help struggling students, and so much more.
5. What’s next? What’s your next big goal? (You were a very popular presenter at our first ever TpT Conference in Las Vegas last summer. Maybe that’s part of it?)
I always have a bunch of ideas spinning around in my head, but there are three big things I am excited about for the future. First off, I have been digging into close reading recently and my second Close Reading Toolkit is nearing completion. This one is focused on literature/fiction. It will be formatted like the first Close Reading Toolkit, which is meant to be used with informational text/nonfiction, but of course the content will be different.
Second, I have an idea for adding a new dimension to my store. I don’t want to say too much about it yet, as I am still working out the details, but it is something I have not seen done on TpT yet and I think it will be a total win-win for everyone involved.
Third, at the TpT conference last July, I was thrilled to discover that I really love presenting. Even more thrilling was finding that people actually want to listen to what I have to say. So, I am hoping to someday do more presenting in addition to the upcoming TpT conference. I am not sure yet what that will look like, but that is all part of the fun!
On a personal note, I am excited about sharing my life with my new husband (we were married on September 6), continuing to be part of my own kids’ lives as they enter into young adulthood, and spending more time with my two new step-daughters.
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Let’s keep the good feelings going! We challenged Rachel to name 12 new TpT Teacher-Authors to watch. From poems of the week to high school science, you’re sure to find a new resource to check out and a new Teacher-Author to follow — oh, and you’ll find 12 freebies, too!
We couldn’t be more proud of Rachel and the great resources she shares through TpT. You can learn more about Rachel here.
Will Rachel be the final TpT Millionaire? We don’t think so. Educators becoming millionaires? Yes, we do like the sound of that, especially when it’s with the power of resources that save teachers time and help them teach at their best.
