The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering and funding tuition-free programs for school and college educators. These programs are for one to five weeks and focus on important topics, texts, and questions in the humanities. In addition, they can be used to: enhance intellectual vitality and professional development of anyone who participates, build Read more about Tuition-Free Summer Programs for Teachers[…]
How do you solve big problems in education in a way that honors the knowledge and expertise of educators in a methodologically rigorous way? How can what’s working in individual classrooms and schools be used to address problems on a larger scale? Educator Networks, or Networked Improvement Communities, are groups of educators who assemble to Read more about November Issue Brief: Educator Networks[…]
In 2016-17, the Opportunity Culture initiative included more than 110 schools, 1250 teachers, and 34,000 students in 17 sites across 7 states. According to the Public Impact website, Opportunity Culture schools are defined by the following characteristics: Teachers lead the way. Each Opportunity Culture school creates a team of teachers and administrators who decide what Read more about Opportunity Culture Initiative Update[…]
On September 11, 2015, the Entertainment Industry Foundation launched Think It Up in a star-studded television special that aired on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. Think It Up is an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation created to bring broad cultural attention to the urgency of improving the learning experience in America. The national education Read more about Think It Up![…]
Joe Ashby was a a multi-classroom leader (MCL) at Buena Vista Enhanced Option Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee before finishing his doctorate and moving on to be a principal in California. He recently wrote an article about that experience for Real Clear Education, and he focused on the flexibility and growth that was present in Read more about Giving, Receiving Professional Development Every Day[…]
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has offered a national certification for interested teachers since the late 1980s. There are currently 110,000 National Board certified teachers across the U.S. This blog wrote about changes the NBPTS made to its certification process to incentivize more teachers to become board-certified. With new research out showing Read more about Board-Certified Teachers More Effective, New Studies Affirm[…]
Over the past 15 years, Teach for America has grown to a scale, and at a pace, that is virtually unprecedented in education and the domestic nonprofit sector more generally. From 2000 to 2014, the number of Teach for America corps members rose nearly tenfold, the number of alumni increased even more rapidly, and the Read more about Exponential Growth, Unexpected Challenges: How Teach for America Grew in Scale and Impact[…]
In the final installment of Marc Tucker’s blog series on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, Gene Wilhoit, the former Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, discusses the need to transform how we recruit, train, and develop our teachers and the consequences of failing to do so. Wilhoit and Read more about Gene Wilhoit: Transforming how we recruit, train, and develop teachers[…]
For implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to be successful, all educators need access to high quality and aligned instructional materials. Achieve launched the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) initiative to build the capacity of educators to evaluate and improve the quality of instructional materials for use in their classrooms Read more about Achieve Posts 50th Common Core-Aligned Lesson through EQuIP Initiative[…]
The Education Department announced a new opportunity to advance teacher leadership. But, for it to succeed, The Department needs your voice to be a part of it. Commit to Lead is a public, online community that directly engages teachers and other educators in defining what teacher leadership can and should be in their communities. The Read more about U.S. Department of Education: Commit to Lead[…]
Research suggests that teachers’ social capital – their relationships, networks and collaboration – may be just as important as their human capital, or individual ability. Generally, education policy focuses either on in classroom factors or out of school factors. The thinking goes that in order for students to improve, they need better instruction and/or better Read more about Do Students Learn More When Their Teachers Work Together?[…]
Education reformers are working diligently to design new teacher compensation systems and career pathways that reward high-quality teaching, equitably distribute effective teachers, and offer opportunities for advancement without leaving the classroom. In this month’s issue brief, we explore various resources, research reports, and ideas related to teacher compensation to provide food for thought about this Read more about August Issue Brief: Teacher Compensation[…]
NASDTEC has undertaken an important new initiative, the development of a model code of ethics for educators. The focus of this work is to provide a uniform set of standards that educators can use as they interact with colleagues, parents, and students. The goal is to provide a model code of ethics that state agencies, Read more about A Model Code of Ethics for Educators[…]
Secretary Duncan announced that, over the next year, he and NBPTS President Ron Thorpe will co-convene a new initiative, Teach to Lead, to foster ambitious commitments on authentic opportunities for teachers to take up leadership roles without leaving the classroom. The goal is to ensure that when important decisions are being made about the work Read more about Teach to Lead[…]
LearnZillion.com offers a free and growing set of Math and English Language resources for grades 2-12 that have been developed by expert teachers (a.k.a, the “Dream Team”). The Premium product is a participatory curriculum used by schools, districts and states to build teacher leaders and accelerate the successful implementation of the Common Core. LearnZillion is Read more about Join LearnZillion’s 2014 Dream Team[…]
The National Education Association (NEA), Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ), and National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are launching a groundbreaking initiative to advance teaching as a 21st-century profession. The Teacher Leadership Initiative (TLI) will support accomplished teachers in leading effective pedagogical, policy, and union reforms. In the 2014 pilot year, TLI will engage Read more about Teacher Leadership Initiative Launches[…]