In Memory of WeAreTeachers Founder, Sandy Fivecoat

A legacy that will live on.

WeAreTeachers Founder, Sandy Fivecoat with her daughter.

We don’t often comment on the “behind the scenes” work at WeAreTeachers, but today we wanted to reflect on the inspiring and beautiful legacy of our founder, Sandy Fivecoat, who passed away on August 7 after a long fight with cancer.

Sandy believed in and supported educators throughout her entire career, which included working for many years at Apple and as an educational consultant in the technology space. In 2007, Sandy founded WeAreTeachers.com with the belief that teachers could make an even bigger impact on their students and families if they had access to additional resources for their classrooms.

WeAreTeachers was a family effort for Sandy, whose daughter is a classroom teacher in Texas. Along with Sandy’s son and a small startup team, they helped to shape a website and social media platforms that would connect teachers with ideas, resources, and funding for their classrooms.

In 2011, Sandy sold WeAreTeachers, but she continued to work with our small but mighty team in a consultant role, helping to shape the site into what it is today. Her original mission to support educators in their challenging but rewarding work still drives everything we do.

Sandy was tough but kind, always there to deliver a spot-on word of advice or support, and to remind us of the importance of serving educators. She loved to sing, dance, model WeAreTeachers swag, and knit baby blankets and hats for her coworkers’ new arrivals. In 2017, she founded the Austin Kindness Project with the goal of spreading love and acceptance throughout Central Texas and the world.

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We will miss Sandy deeply as a friend, role model, and mentor, but we know her legacy will live on every day on this site, in her city, and among her friends and family.

We love you, Sandy!

—The WeAreTeachers Team