Rachel Slaughter's Bio

Rachel Slaughter, a native of Delaware County, grew up in Yeadon, Pa. Her love of books took root in her home library on Lansdowne Avenue. It flourished year after year in the original Lansdowne Library, (the cottage adjacent to the present library.)

A graduate of St. Philomena's School, Slaughter credits Ms. McKenna, her 8th grade teacher for making the teaching profession look fun.

"With grace and humor, Ms. McKenna took a group of rambunctious pre-teens and made them into little scholars every day," Slaughter remembers. "Her attention to details helped me take education seriously."

With the loving guidance of her parents, older sister, and extended family, Slaughter learned to love learning.  And, she gladly accepted the vocation of teaching other people's children.  When Slaughter began to raise her own family, she was thrilled to guide her children into the world of academia. 

Slaughter graduated from St. Philomena's and attended Archbishop Prendergast High. As a mouthy teen, Slaughter spent lots of time counting demerits. But, when Ms. Coyle, her English literature teacher, took interest in her writing, Slaughter's attitude in school changed completely.

"I was thrilled that Ms. Coyle said I had talent as a writer. I took that compliment and ran with it," Slaughter laughs.

When Slaughter graduated from Cabrini College, she took a teaching job in North Philadelphia. She taught English at a inner-city Catholic school until the school ran out of funding 2 months into the school year. Forced to find another job, Slaughter found Transfiguration where she taught under Sister Anita for four years. In the evening, Slaughter beat the streets for news to write. As a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Ewart Rouse was her mentor.

"Mr. Rouse is a top-notch journalist. I owe half of my success in the business to my journalism prof Dr. Zurek, and the other half to Mr. Rouse. Neither of the men let me quit," Slaughter says.

While practicing her journalism skills at The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Germantown Courier, and The Tribune, Slaughter banged out a manuscript that turned into a passion.  After slaving over the manuscript for years, while maintaining a teaching career, Slaughter nervously turned over her work for professional editing.  A family member dedicated to her success, and also a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, fed her advice and comments that helped Slaughter fine tune her work.  She submitted the manuscript to Fruits for Knowledge Press, a small independent publishing company.  In 1991, the editors published "Roxie's Mirage" as a novella.  It is still available on Amazon.com and distributed by several book distributors throughout the country.

While studying for her M. Ed., Slaughter's writing and teaching life continued to intertwine. Her finest articles are the cover articles she wrote for magazines like The Tribune Magazine, Family Digest, and Woman's Day. Her feature stories landed her a position as an entertainment feature writer. She had the opportunity to profile the likes of Eric Benet, Ernie Barnes, and Ossie Davis.

Slaughter and her husband recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. They are raising two girls.  As Slaughter continues her work with young readers and writers, she is working on her doctorate in Reading and Language Arts.

She became editor of The Miter, the school newspaper. And, she worked diligently on the literary magazine. When the Forensics coach, Mr. Blow, told Slaughter that she had a fine speaking voice, she jumped head first into debate. Despite being over extended in various clubs, she won dozens of awards in Forensics which includes dramatic interpretation, and debate.

Although she left her Catholic school teaching position to join the public school system, she continued to write.

In 1991, when Slaughter's young adult novel Roxie's Mirage was published. Slaughter did a book tour and found herself in the company of some of her favorite novelists. The subject of dozens of articles, Slaughter was asked to be the keynote speaker for several conventions including the Montgomery County Women's Conference "Women's Voices and Visions."

"You haven't lived until you talk to ladies like Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, or Lorene Cary," she says.

Today, after twenty years as a teacher and writer, Slaughter's vocation has taken a slight turn around the bend.

"I love the classroom, but many children need one on one attention in small learning environments. I want to help the children who may fall through the cracks of public education. Not all children learn in the same way. My program is flexible. It moves with the child's interest," Slaughter says.

The Salt and Light Learning Institute is located at 82 North Lansdowne Avenue. Currently she is accepting new students. Financial aid is available. For more information, please contact Rachel Slaughter at (610) 220-3643. Feel free to email Rachel Slaughter at saltandlight2008@hotmail.com