New Organizations, New Voices

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New Organizations,New VoicesThe Landscape o Todays Teachers Shaping Policy

Kaitlin Pennington June 2013

www.americanprogress.o


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New Organizations,New VoicesThe Landscape o Todays Teachers Shaping Policy

Kaitlin Pennington June 2013


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1 Introduction and summary

5 The latest chapter in a longer story

9 Emergence of teacher-voice organizations and fellowsh

13 Common characteristics of teacher-voice organizations

fellowships

19 Profiles: Teacher-voice organizations

35 Profiles: Teacher-voice fellowships

45 Teacher-voice movement?

49 Conclusion

51 About the author and acknowledgements

53 Appendix

55 Endnotes

Contents


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Introduction and summary

In he pas ve years, a number o grassroos groups and ellowships have emerged

across he Unied Saes wih he goal o giving eachers a greaer role and a sron-

ger voice in improving everyhing rom he proessional pracice o eaching o he

way he proession is governed. Tese groups are oen called eacher-voice orga-

nizaions, and in many cases hey are esablished wih he aim o giving pracicing

eachers direc access o inuence he policies ha aec heir pracice.

Educaion scholars noe he powerul benes o having eacher voice a he ablewhen educaion policy is being discussedboh or eachers and or he educa-

ional sysem as a whole. According o Julia Koppich, an educaion policy analys

and labor and managemen exper:

While eachers do no have a monopoly on educaional wisdom, heir rs-hand

perspecive gives hem a unique and criical vanage poin om which o assess

he ecacy o educaional policy decisions. Omiting hem om his arena seems

an approach desined o creae more problems han i solves.1

As educaion policies have evolved and recen policy iniiaives have worked o

expose he organizaional and srucural barriers o improving eaching, eacher

voice in policy is perhaps more relevan and imporan han ever beore. Tere

are people ar removed rom he classroom making decisions ha impac wha

happens in classrooms, says William Wong, a member o Educaors 4 Excellence

Los Angeles and he presiden o he San Gabriel eachers Associaion. Is

imporan ha eacher inpu be considered, as heyre he praciioners ha imple-

men policies each day wih sudens.

Tese new eacher-voice organizaions, however, are no he only eachergroupsor he larges groupso push on issues around he eaching proession.

Unil recenly, eachers unions were he loudes and someimes he only voices

represening eachers and heir ineress. Is imporan o noe ha no all each-

ers agree wih hese new emerging groups or wih he posiions o he naions wo


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larges eachers unions. Ye he birh o hese new groups reveals a ac ha was

previously hidden: eacher voice is no monolihic. Te very exisence o eacher-

voice groups and heir growh has been noed and has promped union leaders

and ohers o look more closely a heir diverse missions and messages. As Bill

Raabe, direcor o he Naional Educaion Associaions Cener or Grea Public

Schools, poins ou:

I hink hese organizaions will help raise eacher voice, and were going o

clearly parner wih a number o hem o bring heir voice ino he union and

also o hink abou how o use hose voices more sraegically in he policy

debaes. And Im alking abou voices o pracicing eachers ha maybe

wouldn have been involved in he union [wihou eacher voice organizaions].2

Many eacher-voice groups are working under he assumpion ha involvemen

in policy discussions also aords eachers leadership opporuniies no ye seen in

our curren educaion sysem. School disrics experimening wih career laddersor eachers have begun o consider working wih he eacher-voice organiza-

ions o increase opporuniies or eacher proessional developmen. Ofcials

o he Disric o Columbia Public Schools, or DCPS, have added eacher-voice-

organizaion opporuniies such as he Hope Sree Group Naional eacher

Fellowship, he each Plus eaching Policy Fellowship, and he U.S. Deparmen

o Educaions eaching Ambassador Fellowship o heir lis o leadership-

raining experiences in DCPSs career-ladder program or eachers known as

he Leadership Iniiaive For eachers, or LIF.3 For some leaders o he new

eacher-voice groups, he inclusion o heir leadership opporuniies as par o

wha disrics consider o be ofcial raining begins o ulll one o he goals o

eacher-voice groups: elevaing he eaching proession by providing eachers wih

leadership opporuniies ouside o he classroom while coninuing o each.

Tis repor highlighs several common characerisics and many unique dier-

ences among he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships. Te commonali-

ies and dierences in he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships sugges

ha he curren educaion-reorm environmen has spurred he birh o hese

groups ha are all working oward geting more eachers direcly involved in he

policies ha impac heir daily eaching experiences. Bu he way in which heorganizaions go abou geting he eachers involved is unique o each groups

individual ounding principles, missions, and srucures. Ye, as menioned

above, here are basic elemens shared by eacher-voice groups and ellowships,

which include he ollowing:


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Each organizaion or ellowship was ormed using a unique grassroos model.

eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships operae under he premise ha

eacher voice is no monolihic.

Despie dierences in srucure, all o hese eacher-voice organizaions and el-lowships are working on ways o proessionalize he eaching proession.

echnology is inegral o all organizaions and ellowships eiher as a driver o

programs oered or as a link o connec paricipans.

All eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships respec he hisory o eachers

unions and see hem as powerul players wih which o parner.

eacher-voice organizaion and ellowship membership is diverse.

Funding oen comes rom ouside sources.

Organizaions and ellowships overlap in some policy ineress, bu he mix is

unique o each group.

While i may no be possible a his momen o deermine he impac o eacher-

voice groups given heir shor hisories and size, his paper deails he role ha

eacher voice is playing in educaion reorm, a a ime when he eacher-voice

movemen has picked up speed and is growing in imporance.

The ollowing analysis o teacher-voice organizations and el-

lowships in the context o what some are calling a teacher-voice

movement uses qualitative data collected through interviews

with education-policy scholars and academics, leaders o teacher-

voice organizations and ellowships, teachers-union ocials, and

teachers. (The ull list o respondents is included in the appendix.)

Research consisted o a review o scholarly and think-tank research

and relevant news and journal articles on the role o teacher

in education policy. The particular teacher-voice organization

ellowships were selected because they are inuential in the s

and scope o their work, though the list is by no means comp

sive and it is possible that relevant organizations and ellows

are not mentioned. The organizations and ellowships are pre

by the size o their membership.

Methodology


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The latest chapter in a longer story

Te new eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships have sprung up a his

paricular ime and in his paricular environmen in relaion o changes in he

eaching proession, bu his is no he rs ime ha eachers have sough o

have a voice a he policy able. Te naions wo larges eacher organizaions

he American Federaion o eachers, or AF, and he Naional Educaion

Associaion, or NEAare unions ha are mos known or represening eacher

voice in heir eors o suppor beter wages and working condiions or each-

ers hrough collecive bargaining. Bu a dieren imes in heir pas, boh unionsook on oher issues ha were someimes only angenially relaed o he work

o eaching. In he rs hal o he 20h cenury, or example, he AF pushed or

is mosly emale members o be able o marry and have children wihou losing

heir jobssomehing ha wasn legal in many saes unil he 1930s. In addiion,

members o some AF locals were among he rs whie educaors in he naion

o adop maerials or Black Hisory Monh.4 In he 1960s he NEA pushed or he

desegregaion o eachers associaions in he Souh.5

Bu he primary work o boh unions was o improve working condiions, pay,

and benes or eachers. In he 1960s eachers unions expressed eacher voice

hrough collecive-bargaining agreemens ha resembled hose in he privae-

secor labor movemen.6Managemen, in his case he disrics and adminisra-

ors, and labor, or eachers and oher school sa, pited hemselves agains each

oher o bargain everyhing rom he amoun o ime spen in school buildings

o employees salaries. Te environmen was adversarial or many reasons, in

large par because eachers, mos o whom were women, were poorly paid and

subjec o abysmal working condiions.7 Te residue rom he union movemen a

hal-cenury ago coninues o uel atiudes and eelings abou eachers oday

boh inside and ouside he proession. In addiion, he prescripive collecivelybargained conracs o ha ime coninue oday o inuence policies ha aec

eachers and adminisraors, and shape he abiliy or disrics, saes, and ederal

policymakers o reorm he educaion sysem in he Unied Saes.


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In he mid-1980s, AF Presiden Al Shanker called or a second revoluion in

which eachers would bargain or improved educaion. Shanker ook he unusual

posiion o agreeing wih he 1983 repor, A Naion a Risk, writen by a com-

mission during he Reagan adminisraion. Te repor warned o a rising ide

o mediocriy in American educaion. Aer he repors release, Shanker began

advocaing or peer review, meri pay, and school choice, and became a srongproponen o sandards esing and he accounabiliy movemen, policies ha

had more o do wih he qualiy o educaion in schools han eacher-workplace

issues.8 Laer, in 1996, Shanker old union delegaes, Is as much your duy o

preserve public educaion as i is o negoiae a good conrac.9 Te nex year in

1997, NEA Presiden Bob Chase called or his union o be a champion o qualiy

eaching and qualiy educaionwha he coined as new unionism.10

During his same ime period, he eacher Union Reorm Nework, or URN, a

group o reorm-minded AF and NEA locals, was ounded o challenge eachers-

union leaders o ake seps o promoe eachers as proessionals, advance a broad-based new unionism, and link proessionalism and new unionism o ways or

improving suden learning.11 oday 200 AF and NEA locals are a par o URN

in six dieren regions hroughou he Unied Saes.12 Under he leadership o

URN, hese locals suppor reorm eors such as eacher accounabiliy, peer

assisance and review, and alernaive compensaion sysems. Some o he local

unions have parnered wih disrics o enac reorm eors such as he Denver

Classroom eachers Associaion parnership wih Denver Public Schools o creae

a compensaion sysem based on increased eacher knowledge and skills and su-

den achievemen.13 According o Adam Urbanski, co-ounder o URN, Tere

is a growing realizaion ha he bes way o serve your members is o make sure

hey are successul wih heir work. He says URNs agenda is no only ehically

he righ agenda, bu is also in he enlighened sel-ineres o unions. Te more

progressive and involved, he sronger hey become.14

In he rs decade o he 21s cenury, boh he AF and NEA have coninued edu-

caion-reorm eors. In 2011 NEA released he repor, ransorming eaching:

Connecing Proessional Responsibiliy wih Suden Learning, which largely

depared rom previous union posiions on everyhing rom perormance pay o

he use o suden achievemen as a acor in eacher evaluaions.15

While some mayhave ound he repors recommendaions surprising, reorm-minded union leaders

were no shocked. My long experience wih educaion reorm over hree decades

suggess ha someimes is no a quesion o he union bringing eachers along; is

he union caching up wih where he eachers already are, Urbanski says. Union


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leaders ear ha heir members would rebel and resis cerain policies and hen hey

realize ha heir members already believed his or a long ime.16

Te AF, under he leadership o is presiden, Randi Weingaren, has been

ocused on wha has been ermed soluion-driven unionism, which Weingaren

noes is unionism has rooed in solving problems, no winning argumens.According o Weingaren, While we will coninue o gh or he resources chil-

dren need, we mus also devise innovaive, creaive and new approaches o help

all children succeed.17 In December 2012 he AF released a repor deailing a

bar exam or eachersa rigorous proessional assessmen prior o licensure ha

would serve he same uncion as he bar exam or lawyers and board cericaion

or docors.18 All recen reorm eors will direcly impac he eaching proession

and he way ha eachers uncion in he classroom. For ha reason, and perhaps

now more han ever, eacher voice is necessary in educaion policy.

eachers always have waned a voice in he proession, and o be a proession,explains Jo Anderson, senior advisor o Secreary o Educaion Arne Duncan and

ormer execuive direcor o he Illinois Educaion Associaion, he NEA afliae

in Illinois. According o Anderson:

When i comes o eacher evaluaion, eacher preparaion, and proessional

developmen, eachers have been complaining abou he poor qualiy o hese

sysems or years. Bu he unions did no make improvemens in hese sysems

heir prioriy in local negoiaions or sae-lobbying eors. Now he unions are

deniely making improvemens in hese processes op prioriies.19


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Emergence of teacher-voice

organizations and fellowships

Tere are several reasons why so many new eacher-voice organizaions have

sprung up in he pas ew years, and perhaps he mos powerul is he eec o ed-

eral policy requiring collaboraion among eachers, adminisraors, school boards,

and sae-educaion ofcials around he improvemen o educaion. New ederal

gran-giving programs such as Race o he op, School Improvemen Grans, and

he eacher Incenive Fundall requiring eachers-union sign-o in order or

saes and disrics o receive addiional undshave necessiaed conversaions

abou reorm eors beween local eachers unions and sae and disric schoolmanagemen. Te No Child Le Behind waivers have also inspired innovaion

hrough collaboraion in order o se aside he laws oudaed policies. In some

places such as New Haven, Connecicu, and Newark, New Jersey, unions and

disrics have come ogeher o creae new eacher-evaluaion sysems ha boh

labor and managemen agree upon.20

While disrics and unions coninue o gure ou how o work wih each oher

in his ime o change, new organizaions have emerged o give eachers anoher

avenue o voice heir opinions on he eors shaping heir proession. Alesha

Daughrey, wih he eacher-voice organizaion Cener or eaching Qualiy, is

excied by he possibiliies inheren in organizaions such as hers. I hink ha

here are a lo o opporuniies or innovaion ha didn exis a number o years

ago, she says. Were seeing his as he righ momen or eachers o sep in as a

movemen and begin o hink, Wha is i ha we migh wan o do as exper prac-

iioners wih some really brillian ideas o ransorm our schools?21

A 2011 poll commissioned by he Educaion Secor, a small Washingon, D.C.,

educaion-ocused hink ank, showed coninued suppor among eachers or

unions, wih 81 percen o eachers polled agreeing ha wihou a union, each-ers would be vulnerable o school poliics or o adminisraors who abuse heir

power.22 Te same poll, however, showed ha a growing number o eachers

believe he unions role in educaion reorm should change. Consider his: From

2007 o 2011 he percenage o eachers who believe ha unions should pu more


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ocus han hey currenly do on issues such as improving eacher qualiy and su-

den achievemen rose by 11 percen. According o Bill Raabe, Wha were sar-

ing o realize is ha he deniion o bread-and-buter issues, or wha alls under

ha deniion, has o be much broader. Te hings ha are really bread-and-

buter issues o eachers are beyond heir pay and benes. Raabe says his organi-

zaion sees ha eachers wan o have a say in policy issues such as evaluaion andassessmen, and ha hese are key componens o his groups porolio o ineress.

He sees he parnering o various eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships as

one way o ocusing on hese issues and geting more eachers involved.23

No all union leaders share Raabes posiion on he new eacher-voice organiza-

ions and ellowships. According o Rob Weil, direcor o eld programs and

educaional issues a he AF, he eacher-voice groups may be like bouiques

small, wih specialized or argeed ollowings, bu no powerul enough o have

an impac. Being heard does require ideas, bu change also requires power and

growing numbers, Weil says. I can wee somehing, bu unil a lo o peopleare saying he same hing, hey are no going o lisen o us; has why member-

ship is imporan o any advocacy group. Is he dierence beween a hough

and a movemen. Wha is missing rom he eacher-voice groups, Weil said, is

he sheer orce o numbers and a coaliion around a clear mission. We don see

his as one person can do his work, we believe is people creaing he move-

men ogeher, he says. Te Arab Spring didn happen jus because one person

weeed. Sure, i sared wih a wee bu when ohers joined, i became a move-

men and has when i changed policy.24 Weil also noes ha eacher-voice

groups do no have eleced leadership, which he views as problemaic. On he

oher hand, eachers unions such as he Naional Educaion Associaion and he

American Federaion o eachers are run by leaders who are eleced by each-

ers o represen heir v iews. Tis srucure, Weil believes, ensures democraic

represenaion o eacher voice.

Regardless o wha he union leaders hink, many o he new eacher-voice

groups see heir work as residing in he broader issues ha Raabe idenies as

becoming bread-and-buter issues o eachers: Common Core Sae Sandards

implemenaion, eacher-evaluaion rubric creaion and revisions, and leader-

ship opporuniies or eachers who wish o say in he classroom. Some groupsocus specically on educaion policies beyond wages and benes. Some

groups are ellowships ha are oered hrough he U.S. governmen. Some

groups are ellowships oered hrough esablished nonpro organizaions. And

some groups are nonpro organizaions ha have been creaed o ocus solely


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on geting he voices o more eachers heard. Te emergence o hese groups

a his pivoal momen in educaion-policy hisory is no doub relaed o he

rumblings o change happening a he sae and ederal level, in disrics across

he counry, and he desire o eachers or more involvemen in he design and

implemenaion o policies ha impac heir daily work.


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Common characteristics of

teacher-voice organizations

and fellowships

Despie he variey and geographic dispersion o eacher-voice organizaions

and ellowships, hey share a number o commonaliies. Tese common char-

acerisics illuminae how and why he groups emerged, he siuaions ha

encouraged heir creaion, and wha hey share in erms o visions and goals.

ogeher hey sugges ha he groups are organic and grew o ll he needs o

eachers ha were no being me by union membership. While he groups and

ellowships have many commonaliies, hey also have disinc dierences hamake he various ways hey approach he ask o geting eachers voices heard

in policy discussions and decision making unique.

Each organization or fellowship was formed using a unique

grassroots model

Each o he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships was born when a single

person or a small group o people working in educaion became concerned ha

eachers needed o be more direcly involved in he design and implemenaion o

educaion policy a he disric, sae, and ederal level. Many observers are quick

o lump ogeher he various eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships, mak-

ing he assumpion ha hey are more alike han hey are in realiy. I is an easy

misake o make. Tese organizaions look similar on he surace, and mos have

come ino exisence in he las hal o he decade. Te largeseach Plusis jus

six years old.25 Te oldesCener or eaching Qualiyjus celebraed is 10h

anniversary and has made subsanial changes o is programs over he pas year,

rebranding he organizaion in a way ha makes i nearly brand new.26

Bu each organizaion uncions in a unique way, and any oher assumpion dimin-

ishes he many voices in a diverse movemen. Ta is o say, when joining he

eacher-voice group, Educaors 4 Excellence, or E4E, members sign a Declaraion

o eachers Principles and Beliesa documen deailing he organizaions and


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members vision or he eaching proession. Tis documen allows he group o ake

sances on conroversial issues in ways oher groups canno, and allows i o advocae

direcly or and mobilize around he issues ha all under he declaraion documen.

VIVA eachers, anoher eacher-voice group, by conras, uses no screen or eachers

o paricipae in is programming, which is based solely online. While E4E organizes

locally, VIVA works naionally wih more o a policy ocus han an advocacy ocus.

Teacher-voice organizations and fellowships operate under the

premise that teacher voice is not monolithic

Each o hese eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships was ormed, in par, o

give eachers he opporuniy o alk o each oher ouside o he opporuniies

aorded o hem hrough heir local unions or inormal conversaions among

aculy a heir schools. Tey provide eachers wih anoher avenue o have heir

voices heard. Also, he groups are dened by he noion ha he ideas o heirmembers may no be in agreemen wih all eachers. Furher, he leaders o mos

o hese groups are quick o poin ou ha even heir own members disagree

on many poins. Tese groups accepand in many ways, operae underhe

noion ha here are many eacher voices and no jus one eacher voice.

Despite differences in structure, all of these teacher-voice

organizations and fellowships are working on ways to

professionalize the teaching profession

By giving more eachers more opporuniies o engage and shape policies ha aec

heir proession, eacher-voice organizaions believe ha hey are working oward

proessionalizing he eaching proession. Elizabeh Evans, ounder o VIVA eachers

(Voice, Ideas, Vision, Acion), has experienced his push or proessionalism in acion:

We have seen over and over again his kind o ligh-bulb momen ha manage-

men and union leadership alike have when hey lisen o ordinary classroom

eachers alking abou policy and hey acually hear subsance has boh

reinorcing and adding nuance and deph o wha heyve already been hinking.I do hink we have he opporuniy o drive he proessionalism o he proession

again, and in some places i will open up opporuniies o remind people ha

his is a proession, no a vocaion.27


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Moreover, many eacher-voice organizaion and ellowship leaders believe ha,

due o changing demographics in eacher candidaes, proessionalizing eaching

may be he only way o keep eecive eachers in he classroom. Kaherine Basset,

execuive direcor o he Naional Nework o Sae eachers o he Year, makes he

same poin. According o Basset, As he Generaion Y eachers are coming ino

he proession, hey are looking or more han we can oer, and one o he hingsheyre looking or is career-advancemen opporuniies. She says hese eachers do

no wan o be doing he same hing in year ve o heir careers ha hey were doing

in year one, bu he curren srucure in he educaion proession does no provide

hem enough growh opporuniies o allow or variance hroughou heir careers.

Many o hese eachers and oher eachers do no wan o go ino adminisraion;

hey wan o each, Basset says. However, hey also wan o lead, and we need o

gure ou how o provide hem hose opporuniies.28

Technology is integral to al l organizations and fellowships either asa driver of programs offered or as a link to connect participants

Social media and new echnology give eachers a voice in ways ha hey have never

had beore, and eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships are seizing he momen,

using new orms o communicaion o share wha is happing in schools, disrics,

and saes across he Unied Saes. As is he case in oher indusries and proessions,

echnology has allowed educaors o share ideas and challenges around everyhing

rom lesson planning o undraising o school policy o lobbying. echnology has

also allowed eachers in a large disric or a region, despie working in dieren and

widely dispersed locaions, o come ogeher o consider policies and pracices ha

aec hem and hen be empowered o ake grassroos acion.

echnology is paricularly imporan o he organizaions ha run naional pro-

grams allowing paricipans o ake par in webinars o learn abou policy, share

experiences, and oer each oher assisance wihou being in he same physi-

cal locaion. William Wong illusraes he imporance o echnology when he

describes how he rs came o be involved wih he group hrough social media.

I can remember exacly where I came across E4E, hough mos likely i was

hrough witer or a blog,29

Wong says. Educaors 4 Excellence New York Ciymember Vailala Salazar similarly rs heard abou E4E hrough social media,

albei a dieren plaorm: LinkedIn. One o my colleagues invied Educaors 4

Excellence o do a lunch a my school, Salazar says. She ound ou abou hem

hrough LinkedIn and reached ou o hem because she waned o learn more. 30


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All teacher-voice organizations and fellowships respect the history

of unions and see them as powerful players with which to partner

Leaders o he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships recognize and respec

he hisory o eachers unions and he power ha unions have when i comes o

ensuring ha he work o eachers is heard in disric, sae, and ederal educa-ion policy. In ac, many eachers involved in hese new organizaions are union

members, and some are even union leaders. Ye all eacher-voice organizaions rec-

ognize ha, simply due o heir exisence, hey are pushing unions o rehink he

srucures wihin which eachers can be heard. Jo Anderson says ha wih he new

demands on eachers, unions need o work o suppor eachers in new ways, bu

ha hese new demands can become a human-capial issue wihin union ranks.

According o Anderson:

Wha ges in he way is a sang srucure ha has grown over ime where unions

hire people ha have one se o skills, and wih new demands on wha eachersneed and he ways hey need suppor, ha sang sysem migh no be prepared o

mee hose needs and hereore is resisan. When you don have people wih he

righ skills in place, has a problem. So he unions are going o need o work o ge

he righ suppors and raining o heir sas o do he hings ha, in ac, many o

hem wan o do bu do no currenly know how o do.31

Teacher-voice organization and fellowship membership is diverse

Some observers assume ha he membership o hese organizaions would largely

be made up o younger, less-experienced eachers. Cerain organizaions such as

each Plus have designed hemselves o atrac newer eachers,32 and some o he

ellowships were creaed o suppor eachers a dieren sages in heir careers. Bu

he selecion requiremens o he various organizaions and ellowships do no

necessarily arge younger, less-experienced eachers. In ac, many require a mini-

mum amoun o eaching experience and mos screen heir applicans in order

o ensure diversiy in everyhing rom charer school eachers versus radiional

public school eachers o he populaion o sudens augh o race and ehniciy o

he eachers hemselves. Oher eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships do noseek ou a specic populaion o eachers, bu have insead recruied membership

o eachers across a broad range o experience and age.


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Funding often comes from outside sources

A common criicism o he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships is ha heir

groups and members are simply mouhpieces or he oundaions and donors ha

und hem. Many o he groups are unded by big, naional philanhropies such as

he Bill & Melinda Gaes Foundaion or he Joyce Foundaion; some obain solelylocal unding rom region-specic oundaions or civic groups; and ye ohers are

unded by a combinaion o naional and local unding. Sill, ohers receive ederal

unds hrough ederal gran-giving programs and/or sae deparmens o educaion.

Some seek ou unding or individual projecs such as specic eacher-evaluaion

policy repors, while oher groups seek unding or overall operaions wihou regard

o specic projecs hey will work on. Te eacher-voice organizaions and ellow-

ships are conscious o he criicism and say hey are careul o say independen.

According o Evan Sone, co-ounder o Educaors 4 Excellence:

I hope his is somehing ha people coninue o check on us abou. We ried o seup governance srucures ha would ensure ha were separaing unding om

policy and unding om organizaional decisions. Do unders have agendas? O

course hey do. I hey see us ting ino heir agenda, grea. Bu hey don have

any say over he direcion o he organizaion.33

Moreover, because many o hese groups rely a leas in par on ouside unding,

susainabiliy will cerainly be an issue on he minds o eacher-voice organizaion

and ellowship leaders. o diversiy unding sreams, some groups have sared

cos-sharing approaches o unding, ohers have members pay minimal dues, and

some have looked o unding rom governmen sources.

Organizations and fellowships overlap in some policy interests, but

the mix is unique to each group

Many o he policies ha he eacher-voice organizaions and ellowships ocus on

are iniiaives ha many saes and disrics hroughou he naion are uniormly

concerned wih as well, including eacher evaluaion and he Common Core

Sae Sandards. I is possible ha his overlap can be atribued o recen ederalgran-giving programs ha have encouraged new eacher-evaluaion sysems and

an overwhelming agreemen on he need or a sandardized curriculum in many


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FIGURE 1

Policy spotlight: Teacher-voice organizations and fellowships

Common

Core State

Standards

Distribu-

tion of

effective

teachers

Education

technology

and 21st-

century

learning

Federal-

policy initia-

tives (Race

to the Top,

the RESPECT

project, etc.)

Last In,

First Out

teacher

layoff poli-

cies

Learning

time in

school

School

safety

Career

lad-

ders for

teachers

Teacher-

evalu-

ation

policies

Tea

profe

al-d

opm

pol

Teacher-voice organizations

Teach Plus X X X X X

Educators 4

ExcellenceX X X X

VIVA Teachers X X X X

Center or

Teaching QualityX X X X

National

Network o State

Teachers o

the Year

X X X

Teacher-voice fellowships

America

Achieves Fellow-

ship or Teachers

and Principals

X X X X

Hope Street

Group National

Teacher

Fellowship

X X

U.S. Department

o Education

Teaching

Ambassador

Fellowship

X

*This is not a comprehensive list of all the policies that teacher-voice organizations and fellowships are working on. R ather, it is a list of selectpolicies chosen by the author.

sae capials. Oher policy ocus areas are o paricular concerns o he members

o each organizaion or ellowship and are oen argeed o eiher he mission o

he organizaion or ellowship or he local conex in which each o hese organiza-

ions and ellowship work.


25/64

Pl: tac-c aza | www.acap.

Profiles: Teacher-voice organizations

Te ollowing are organizaions solely dedicaed o eacher voice. Mos o hese

organizaions run several dieren programs o engage eachers in educaion policy.

Founded: Ocially incorporated in 2009 (piloted in 2007)

Founder: Celine Coggins

Membership: 12,21135

Mission: To improve outcomes or urban children by ensuring that a

greater proportion o students have access to eective, experienced

teachers

What makes it unique: Teach Plus programs ocus on demonstra-

bly eective urban teachers in the second stage o their careers

years 3 through 10who want to continue classroom teaching

while also expanding their impact as leaders in their schools and in

national, state, and district policy

Issue areas: Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluatiocareer ladders or teachers, Last In, First Out lay-o policies, a

distribution o eective teachers

Funding: Hal o its unds come rom government sources (RTT

and SIG), in addition to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carn

Corporation o New York, Noyce Foundation, Boston Foundation

Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Centra

ana Community Foundation, Ayres Foundation, Chicago Public E

tion Fund, Wasserman Foundation, and the CityBridge Foundatio

Locations: Cities, no states:Greater Boston, Chicago, Indianap

Los Angeles, Memphis, and Washington, D.C.

Source: Authors interviews and independent research.

Teach Plus34

When Celine Coggins old her parensboh o whom are public school each-ersha she waned o ollow in heir ooseps and become a eacher, Coggins

remembers hem boh becoming visibly upse. Tey old me ha eaching was

no or smar and ambiious people, and wihin a ew years ino being a eacher

I undersood wha hey mean, she says. Coggins poins ou ha, Tere were


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very ew growh opporuniies and as I looked o expand my impac beyond my

classroom, I realized ha in order o ge growh experiences, you generally needed

o leave he classroom.36

Coggins le he classroom and go involved in policy, and while doing his work,

she had anoher epiphany. I learned here are huge gaps beween olks who areimplemening policy on he ground and olks who are making hose decisions,

she says. Coggins own experience led her o creae an organizaion o bridge

ha gap beween policymakers and eachers, wih he goal o creaing leadership

opporuniies ha would keep hem in he classroom. Te organizaion is each

Plus, and is mission is o improve oucomes or urban children by ensuring ha a

greaer proporion o sudens have access o eecive, experienced eachers.

each Plus is dieren rom oher eacher-voice organizaions in ha i ocuses

on urban educaors who have augh or a leas hree years and no more han 10,

hough no all members o each Plus are in his range o experience.37 Because ourheory o acion revolves around rying o creae he kinds o incenives and oppor-

uniies ha are going o keep grea eachers commited, has he period o ime we

lose eachers, so has he period o ime we really ocus on, Coggins says.

each Plus oers hree disinc programs, wo o which have eacher-voice com-

ponens: he eaching Policy Fellows, which requires an applicaion, and he +

Nework program, which does no. Te eaching Policy Fellowship spans wo

years and rains curren classroom eachers in educaion policy and research.38

each Plus screens or eecive eachers or he ellowship and also ries o

diversiy each group o ellows based on racial and ehnic backgrounds, grade

level, subjecs augh, and oher diversiy screens. Te ellows mee a leas once a

monh and are oen joined by educaion-policy decision makers a he local, sae,

and ederal levels. Coggins explains ha he ellows are given he ools o advance

heir own agenda or change and improvemen in heir ciy or sae.

Te + Nework evolves as eachers atend evens hosed by each Plus, ge on

he email lisserv, and sar ineracing wih he organizaion around issues and

acion.39 Tis inormal and larger group gives each Plus leaders he opporuniy

o connec a larger nework o eachers o policymakers. Tey do so hrough pub-lic evens ha usually eaure a policymaker alking o eachers abou educaion-

policy opics; hose atending ge o weigh in on he opics presened hrough

audience-response echnology ha allows or near-insan eedback. each Plus

also oers a hos o webinars or he larger + Nework.


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Regardless o how eachers connec o he organizaion, each Plus encourages

hem o have heir voice heard hrough various media oules. Las year, each

Plus eachers had 210 media placemens in prin, online, elevision, and radio, and

are currenly on rack o surpass ha number his year. Whas more, 24 each

Plus eachers jus nished collaboraing on wriing a book, iled, Te Real Expers:

How Grea eachers Would Fix Americas Schools, which will be published his allby Harvard Educaion Press.40

Coggins says ha each Plus views eachers unions as criical parners. Tis spring

each Plus eamed wih he Naional Educaion Associaion o launch Assessmen

Advisor, a websie similar o Yelp.com, or eachers o alk abou suden assess-

mens.41 Because some assessmens are beter han ohers, eachers migh be able

o ideniy and more ully share ideas abou which assessmen ools are working

and which are no, insead o repeaing he more common conversaion surround-

ing assessmen, which is, eiher you like i or you don. Parnerships such as hese

bring each Plus eachers ogeher wih eachers unions o engage more eachersin projecs ha can bene all in he proession. According o Coggins:

I hink one o he sereoypes ha he union is rying o move beyond is he squeaky

wheel, complaining eacher as he mos vocal member o he union. We know ha

eachers coming ino he proession really wan o eel a par o a proessional asso-

ciaion, and o a small degree, we oer ha. Te union can be a larger and more

powerul example o ha, bu here are some ransiions hey need o make.42

each Plus obains slighly more han 50 percen o is unding rom governmen

gran-giving programs such as Race o he op, wih he oher hal coming rom

philanhropy organizaions.43 Coggins believes a lo o he criicism around he

unding o eacher-voice organizaionsdue o he ac ha some quesion he

moives o corporae leaders ineres in educaion reormis because many o

hem receive unds rom he Bill & Melinda Gaes Foundaion. She noes ha

each Plus had been in exisence or more han wo years beore being unded by

he Gaes Foundaion, bu ha each Plus and he Gaes Foundaion have similar

agendas. By he ime we go unding rom Gaes, we had a well-esablished poin

o view, bu ha poin o view is acually quie similar o he Gaes Foundaions

because is based on research, Coggins says.

Coggins believes he eacher-voice movemen grew ou o a desire o a new se o

eachers who waned opporuniies o connec direc eaching experience wih he

bigger picure o educaion reorm ha can change educaional oucomes or all


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sudens. A lo o eachers go ino eaching or social-jusice reasons; hey wan

o change he world, she says. Connecing how eaching can do jus ha will be

imporan o he movemen, Coggins believes.

Founded: Spring 2010 (ocially incorporated in summer 2010)

Founders: Sydney Morris and Evan Stone

Membership: More than 10,000

Mission: To ensure that the voices o classroom teachers are includ-

ed in the decisions that aect the teaching proession and students

What makes it unique: Emphasis on grassroots organizing,

advocacy and mobilization ocused, and a Declaration o Teachers

Principles and Belies

Issue areas: Common Core State Standards, career ladders or

teachers, teacher evaluation, Last In, First Out lay-o policies, ea

childhood policies, and teacher-preparation policies

Funding: More than 65 major local and national oundations an

individual supporters, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Founda-

tion; Broad Foundation; Laura and John Arnold Foundation; Carn

Corporation o New York; United Way o Greater Los Angeles; Rob

Hood Foundation; Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation; Simo

Foundation; Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, or RKMC; Foundation

Children; Minneapolis Foundation; and the Saint Paul Foundation

Locations: New York City, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Connecti


Educators 4 Excellence44

Educaors 4 Excellence, or E4E, was conceived during a long subway ride rom

he Eas Village o he Bronx in New York Ciy during he 2009-10 school year. 45

Founders Evan Sone and Sydney Morris were eaching a he same school, and

on heir way o and rom work each day, hey expressed similar eelings o discon-

en abou heir abiliy o make an impac ouside o heir own classrooms in heir

school and disric. According o Sone:

Wha we ound is ha as we go more conden in our classrooms and in our

eaching, we waned o have a broader impac. We waned o have a voice and

had a hard ime doing ha in our school, which was very se in is ways, or inour disric, or in he union, because in New York Ciy, all o hese are hese

massive insiuions. So I wouldn expec us o be heard necessarily, bu we

couldn even nd an oule o ry.46


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Sone and Morris sared alking o oher eachers in schools across he New York

Ciy school disric o deermine i heir experiences were somehow unique o

heir paricular siuaion. A he ime, he wo were considering oher ways o have

a greaer voice, rom saring heir own school, o changing schools, o simply ry-

ing o nd ways o innovae in heir proession. According o Sone:

I was really rusraed by he lack o opporuniies or proessional growh. Wha

we kep hearing rom eachers is ha i was he same or hem. Regardless o how

long hey augh or where heyd been eaching, hey el like hey didn ge he

suppor or he resources o be as eecive as hey could be. Tey didn ge mean-

ingul eedback. Tey didn ge recognized when hey excelled. Bu underlying all

o hese hings was he similar idea o I don have a voice.47

Sone and Morris began convening colleagues rom across he ciy o explore he

possibiliy o ormalizing a group o eachers who had i as heir mission o discuss

and ac upon policies ha aec he eaching proession. Aer several meeings,Sone, Morris, and 12 oher eachers decided o creae a documen ha would

deail heir aspiraions or he eaching proession and ask oher eachers o ge

involved wih heir group by signing on. I became clear ha we needed some-

hing o unie uswe needed o know wha we sood or, Sone explains. We

didn wan o say o eachers, join us, and no know wha ha mean o join.

So Sone and Morris wroe down heir belies abou he eaching proessiona

bulle-poin lis deailing everyhing rom eacher recruimen o dismissal. Tey

called he lis heir Declaraion o Principles and Belies.48 Monhs laer, he dec-

laraion would serve as he caalys in incorporaing Educaors 4 Excellence ino

an ofcial organizaion, and years laer, i would remain unchanged as he organi-

zaion grew rom a handul o eachers in New York Ciy o housands across he

Unied Saes. We haven changed a word o i since we wroe i, Sone says o

heir original declaraion.

Educaors 4 Excellence has been criicized or is Declaraion o Principles and

Belies. Criics claim ha he group appeals o eachers who share he educaion-

policy belies in he declaraion abou he eaching proession and discourages hose

wih diering views o join. Bu Sone coves he documen, and many view i as a

way o diereniae E4E rom oher eacher-voice groups. According o Sone:

I allows us o ake a sance on issues because everybody [who joins E4E] has

had a baseline agreemen. Is a saring place or soluions-oriened conversa-

ions. Te ideas on he declaraion are broad, and E4E eachers believe in hese


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core se o principles, bu we gure ou he deails ogeher. We recognize ha no

every single eacher believes in hese ideas, bu we represen a large and growing

body o eachers who wan o be a par o creaing ha change.49

Educaors 4 Excellence ofcially incorporaed as an organizaion in Augus 2010,

beginning in New York Ciy, and oday has more han 10,000 members naionallywih ofcial chapers in our regions hroughou he Unied Saes.50 Fiy percen

o he groups members have ve or more years o eaching experience, and 20 per-

cen have 10 or more years o experience. In addiion, 87 percen o is members

each a radiional public schools.51 E4E members ge involved hrough a process

known as learn, nework, and ake acion, and i works like his: E4E provides

reading maerials and workshops o help is members become beter inormed

abou educaion policy and poliics; members hen nework wih oher eachers

hrough E4E evens and neworking discussions and panels; and nally, mem-

bers ake acion hrough wriing, organizing, and hrough oher avenues o aec

change legislaively, conracually, or by a plehora o oher ways hrough school,disric, or sae-level policies.52

In he 2010-11 school year, E4E eachers wroe heir rs policy papers on he

opics o eacher evaluaion and senioriy-based layos. A he same ime, New

York Ciy was wresling wih he prospec o laying o housands o eachers due

o budge cus. E4E eachers me wih New York Ciy Mayor Michael Bloomberg

and members o he sae legislaure o presen heir ideas or how o alleviae he

impac o qualiy-blind layos, or when eachers are laid o regardless o heir per-

ormance in he classroom. Tose ideas were adoped by lawmakers and became

Senae Bill 3501, which was passed by he sae Senae. Te E4E proposal sug-

gesed hree levers or eacher layos: chronic abseneeism, eachers wih muliple

unsaisacory evaluaions, and eachers who were in he absen-eacher reserve

pool or more han six monhs.53 Bu in he end, he New York Sae Legislaure

dropped he issue aer New York Ciy ound unding o allow all eachers o keep

heir jobs. New York was able o move enough money around o aver layos,

Sone says. Even so, our eachers osered a serious debae abou how we keep

grea eachers in our classrooms even in he mos dire o economic circumsances.

Noneheless, hrough his process, E4E gained momenum, and is membership

exploded in 2011 rom 500 eachers o nearly 2,000 eachers.

Educaors 4 Excellences rs real policy win came in early 2012 when is sugges-

ions or he appeals process or eacher evaluaion were incorporaed ino he

agreemen led by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) o setle a nal sicking


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poin beween he New York Ciy schools and eachers union.54 Tis resuled in a

major jump in E4E membership and a call rom eachers in Los Angeles o con-

inue similar work on he opposie coas.

Sone sees Educaors 4 Excellence and oher eacher-voice groups as avenues or

eachers o ge more involved in heir unions. According o Sone:

Unions are undamenally imporan o he educaion sysem, and collecive

bargaining is a key process or eachers o be involved in shaping policy. However,

very small percenages o eachers are currenly acive in heir unions. I hope ha

we help encourage eachers o see heir unions as a lever or posiive change. 55

E4E recenly sared a chaper in Minnesoa, is soon launching in Connecicu,

and has been conaced by eachers in many oher ciies, saes, and regions

hroughou he Unied Saes who wan o sar similar organizaions. We can

build movemens o eachers o help drive change in heir local conex ha arealigned in his broader movemen o an elevaed eaching proession, Sone says.

Founded: September 2011

Founder: Elizabeth Evans

Membership: 3,500 virtual members, having done work in Arizona,

Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New

Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Texas

Mission: To increase the volume o the teachers voice in policy-

making, with the ultimate goal o positioning teachers as the go-to

resources or education policymakers needing ideas, suggestions,

and authentic experiences

What makes it unique: VIVA Teachers is an online organization

that uses technology as an organizing tool or teachers to participate

in a vir tual Ideas Exchange

Issue areas: Learning time in school, proessional evaluations

(teacher and principal), Common Core State Standards, and sc

saety

Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family F

tion, Joyce Foundation, Minnesota Department o Education, Ch

Public Education Fund, National Education Association, Massach

Teachers Association, Iowa State Education Association, and the

Foundation

Locations: Online only


VIVA Teachers (Voice, Ideas, Vision, Action)56


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VIVA eachers is he brainchild o Elizabeh Evans, who had been he execuive

direcor o he Illinois Nework o Charer Schools. In ha job Evans noiced a

lack o eacher represenaion in policy conversaions. When she began o ask

eachers abou i, she ound ha many didn eel here was an oule or heir

voice in policy discussions. Ye when you alk o eachers, hey have a lo o

srong opinions, Evans says. So i seemed like a naural opporuniy o creae anew avenue or eachers o ge involved in policy.57

Te cornersone o VIVA is he VIVA Idea Exchange, an open, online plaorm

designed or eachers o give heir inpu on educaion policy during a specic win-

dow o ime. Each VIVA Idea Exchange is hemed and is mosly locally argeed,

excep or a ew naional exchanges VIVA has conduced. We saw more and

more how echnology was changing he way people connec and engage, Evans

says. We knew we had he opporuniy o bridge ha gap wih eachers wih an

online plaorm ha is used or a paricular shor-erm, oucome-oriened kind o

crowdsourcing.o accommodae eachers busy schedules, VIVA Idea Exchangesare 24 hours a day, every day, unil he exchange ends. Paricipans can share heir

houghs on he paricular opic o he exchange by posing an idea, commening

on oher educaors ideas, or voing or or agains ideas.

Unlike oher eacher-voice organizaions, VIVA does no in any way screen each-

ers who wish o paricipae. For wo projecs around eacher and principal evalu-

aions in Minnesoa, or example, nearly 500 eachers and principals paricipaed

in he VIVA Idea Exchange saewide, wih a 10 percen paricipaion overlap

beween he wo projecs.58 o solici paricipans, VIVA reaches ou o educaors

hrough echnology-based plaorms rom email o all orms o social media. VIVA

also orms relaionships wih oher educaion organizaions in areas where heyre

working o ge he word ou abou heir projecs. For a projec in Chicago, or

example, VIVA asked ellow eacher-voice organizaion, each Plus, o promoe

he projec o is neworks.59

Because o is social-media oureach and online srucure, Evans expeced ha

many VIVA Idea Exchange paricipans would be younger, more ech-savvy each-

ers who had ewer years o experience, bu a large number o paricipans44

percenhave beween 10 and 20 years o eaching experience.60

I hink becausewere no dening any crieria on he kind o eacher were looking or and were

no dening ourselves as a represenaive body, nor are we exacly random sam-

pling because here is sel-selecion in who paricipaes, I hink were geting a

broader specrum o eachers o paricipae, Evans says.


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During he VIVA Idea Exchange, olks a VIVA measure he requency o online

paricipaion and hen invie a small group o he highly involved Ideas Exchange

paricipans, ypically a group o 5 o 15 eachers, o join he nex sep in he

VIVA process: he Wriing Collaboraive. Working ogeher online, he parici-

pans in he Wriing Collaboraive pick hemes rom heir peers in he VIVA Idea

Exchange, reec upon hem, es hem agains research and pracice, and, nally,pu ogeher a deailed repor. Te collaboraive hen delivers he ideas rom he

repor direcly o local, sae, and/or ederal public-policy ofcialswhichever

makes he mos sense or he opic o he repor. In addiion o presening repor

ndings o public-policy ofcials, VIVA pushes he repor ou o educaion policy

and advocacy groups as well as local eachers unions.

o ulll paricular projec goals, VIVA works wih all ineresed paries, rom

eachers unions o disric managemen. According o Evans, parnerships wih

he unions oen happen on sae-level projecs. Weve had successul projecs

wih unions ha have leaders who undersand he need o add more capaciyaround providing resources around policy and pracice and no simply workplace

and collecive bargaining, Evans says. Recenly, VIVA parnered wih he NEA

or a school-saey projec and in April o his year, 11 VIVA members, who are

also NEA members, presened heir ideas rom heir Wriing Collaboraive o

NEA Presiden Dennis Van Roekel, his senior sa, and o Secreary o Educaion

Duncans senior sa.61 Te repor he VIVA Wriing Collaboraive eachers

presened, Sensible Soluions or Saer Schools, included recommendaions or

beter proessional developmen or eachers on educaing he whole child and

implemening a pro-hero raher han an ani-bully curriculum.62 Previously,

VIVA parnered wih Iowas sae eachers union or a eacher-leadership proj-

ec. Te repor produced as par o ha projec was approved and adoped by

he union boards governing council and leadership as an ofcial posiion o he

union.63 I is an example o where he union is rying o provide a more nuanced

policy posiioning and engage heir membership in new ways, Evans says.

Te projecs ha VIVA underakes, and geographic areas where i chooses o

work, are largely decided on by he poliical will o decision makers in saes and

disrics. Our screen is people in posiions o auhoriydecision makers and

policymakerswho are genuinely ineresed and willing o lisen o eachersvoice, Evans says. Since is incepion, VIVA has conduced 10 Ideas Exchanges

and has narrowed is ocus o our policy areas: learning ime in school, proes-

sional evaluaions (eacher and principal), Common Core Sae Sandards, and

school saey. VIVA projecs are unded per projec by various granees. A rs,


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Evans used her connecions in he educaion world o obain unding, bu now,

VIVA has developed a cos-sharing approach wih parner organizaions on a

projec-by-projec basis.

Evans noes ha in order or VIVA and oher eacher-voice organizaions o

uncion and have impac, i is imporan ha hey coninue o gain racion. We[eacher-voice groups] need o coninue o demonsrae ha eachers can have

subsanive, houghul, producive, policy-driven opinions and ideas, and ha

hey can use hem o inorm pracice, because good policies make or beter prac-

ice in and o hemselves, Evans says.

Founded: 1999 as the Southeast Center or Teaching Quality, and in

2003 as Teacher Leaders Network

Founder: Barnett Berry

Membership: More than 2,000

Mission: To connect, ready, and mobilize teacher leaders to trans-

orm schools

What makes it unique: Distinct Geo Labs with a national online

platorm called the Collaboratory; includes space or conversationwith non-educators

Issue areas: Teacher evaluation, Common Core State Standards,

21st-century learning, innovative leadership, and school redesign

Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Joyce Foundation

Stuart Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, MetLie Founda

and the Kentucky Department o Education

Locations of Geo Labs: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Washington,

Kentucky, although the Center or Teaching Quality is largely

a virtual organization


Center for Teaching Quality64

In March 2013 he Cener or eaching Qualiy, or CQ, celebraed is eacher-

leader communiys 10h anniversary, bu over hose 10 years his organizaion has

had a pachwork kind o growh, wih new arms o he organizaion rising and laer

being aligned wih he larger communiy.65 CQ began in 1999 as he Souheas

Cener or eacher Qualiy and rebranded in 2003 as he eacher Leaders Nework,an elecronic mailing lis, or lisserv, o nearly 250 eachers, which provided a virual

meeing space or eachers hroughou he counry o share bes pracices, alk abou

leadership opporuniies, and oer ways o exend heir work beyond heir own


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classrooms.66 A is incepion, CQs goal was o connec eachers in order o break

down he barriers o isolaion el by many in he proession.

Aer several years o success a virually connecing eachers, CQ moved is

ocus o geographic locaions o build a criical mass o eachers who could con-

nec in person while coninuing he online conversaion. In 2009, in addiion ois virual communiy represening 46 saes, CQ sared he New Millennium

Iniiaive, or NMI, in our geographic sies, which quickly grew o ve: Denver,

Colorado; Puge Sound, Washingon; he Bay Area o Caliornia; Illinois; and

Hillsborough Couny, Florida. eachers involved in NMI work o develop

educaion-policy-analys skills and learn ways o advocae or eecive eaching

policies a he local, sae, and ederal levels. Te avenues NMI eachers ake o

ge heir voices heard vary wih each policy and geographic area. Denver NMI

eachers, or example, suggesed revisions o Colorados eacher-evaluaion leg-

islaion in a 2011 repor, Making eacher Evaluaion Work or Sudens: Voices

rom he Classroom. Meanwhile, NMI eachers in Hillsborough Couny areworking on video-based learning communiies, engaging eachers in 12 dieren

Hillsborough Couny schools. Tis spring saw he eor beginning o spread o

oher Florida disrics as well.67

Recenly, CQ rebranded he New Millennium Iniiaive and is virual commu-

niy as CQ Colorado, CQ Florida, CQ Illinois, and CQ Washingon, and

are reerred o as CQs Geo Labs. Alesah Daughrey, CQs direcor o parner-

ship and proessional learning, explains he rebranding:

Weve gone o saes raher han o disrics or more ciy-specic names because

as he number o engaged eachers grows, he geographic range o hese groups

is going well beyond he specic disric or even someimes specic clusers o

disrics in a mero area. We help hose eachers learn ogeher and hen lead

ogeher, and while iniially a lo o he NMI work was ocused on eaching-

policy issues, in paricular eacher evaluaion, oday hose eams are working

on a whole hos o issues, some o which have a lo more o do wih pedagogi-

cal innovaions han anyhing else.

Te virual communiy has been rebranded as CQs Collaboraory and is openo eachers as well as all oher proessionals ineresed in educaion wih he idea

o sharing houghs across plaorms. Trough he Collaboraory, eachers can

also ake par in eacher-argeed conen labs where educaors connec online o


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work on specic projecs such as Common Core Sae Sandards implemenaion

or 21s-cenury learning echniques. According o Daughrey, he Collaboraorys

aglineWe spark connecions. You creae soluions.encourages eachers o

innovae o creae bold ideas o move he proession orward.

All are welcome o join in he conversaion on CQs Collaboraory, bu CQscreens he conen-lab aciliaors as well as Geo Lab paricipans. We have had

a prety rigorous screening process or our core eam members or he Geo Labs

in paricular, Daughrey says. CQ is concerned wih keeping is communiies

alking abou soluions raher han having hem become places where he conver-

saion srays rom educaion policy.

In 2011 CQs ounder Barnet Berry co-auhored eaching 2030, a book abou

he uure o he eaching proession, wih 12 CQ eachers. Along wih recom-

mendaions or improving school nance, working condiions, eacher prepara-

ion, and accounabiliy, he co-auhors call or eachers unions o reorm as, whahey call proessional guilds.68 Berry conends ha i is ime or eacher leaders

o press orward he discussion abou ransorming unions ino proessional guilds

ha seek no only o mainain bu o advance public educaion as he cornersone

o our democracy.69 Adding o Berrys poin, Daughrey explains ha CQ works

closely wih unions as criical riends in heir work o creaing eacher leaders

who are working o envision heir proession in new, innovaive ways.

CQ denes success wih heir iniiaives in couple o ways, including he number

o paricipaing members, bu he group also moniors he number o heir each-

ers who move rom learning abou policy and advocacy work ino acing upon

wha heyve learned, including hose who have sepped ino leadership posiions.

I hink he idea o expanding and spreading is imporan o us, bu we also really

judge success rom how many eachers move rom learning ino acion as engaged,

acive eacher leaders, Daughrey says.

Tis year, auhors Berry, Ann Byrd, and Alan Wieder, plan o release

eacherpreneurs, a book ha deails how eachers can ake on leadership opporu-

niies such as hose oered hrough CQ, wihou leaving heir classroom-each-

ing responsibiliies and become wha hey call, eacherpreneurshe equivaleno small-business ounders. Te book provides recommendaions or implemen-

ing a new, ransormaive ype o eacher leadership and includes a how-o secion

or selecing, supporing, and susaining eacherpreneurs.70


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wo and a hal years ago, a group o ormer Sae eachers o he Year shared a

desire or a proessional organizaion ha would serve as a home or hem and

heir colleagues o coninue capializing on wha hey learned during heir year as

Sae eacher o he Year, and had several meeings o explore he idea. Teir dis-

cussions bore rui in he all o 2012 when he Naional Sae eachers o he Year

organizaion was revialized. Te previously esablished nonpro organizaion

served primarily as an alumni and service-oriened organizaion or Sae eachers

o he Year. Te newly renamed Naional Nework o Sae eachers o he Year, or

NNSOY, now has a new ocus on educaion policy and advocacy, in addiion o

is radiional emphasis on service.

NNSOYs members have been recognized as a Sae eacher o he Year or he

sae or U.S. eniy where hey each beore enering wha is called heir year o

recogniion. Ta year is lled wih aciviies sponsored by he Council o Chie

Sae School Ofcers including, bu no limied o, raining in educaion policy

and advocacy, media, and public speaking. Prior o he shi in he naional orga-

nizaions ocus six monhs ago, Sae eachers o he Year had neiher a colleciveorganizaion rom which o coninue o advocae or policies and pracices nor

a voice in he public conversaion. A he end o he year o recogniion, many

Sae eachers o he Year come ou he oher side eeling ha heyre all dressed

Founded: October 2012

Executive Director: Katherine Bassett

Membership: More than 700

Mission: To serve as a proessional organization or State Teachers

o the Year in their years o service ollowing their Year o Recognition

when they serve as their states Teacher o the Year

What makes it unique: A hub or State Teachers o the Year to stay

involved in education policy and advocacy ater their year o recognition

Issue areas: Teacher continuums, teacher leadership, teacher

sional development, andCommon Core State Standards

Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Educational Te

Service, NEA Foundation, and membership dues

Locations: Members are rom every state, the District o Colum

and several U.S. territories, in addition to the U.S. Department o

Deense Education Administration


National Network of State Teachers of the Year71


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up wih no place o grow, says Kaherine Basset, New Jersey Sae eacher o he

Year in 2000 and execuive direcor o NNSOY.

Te ransiion rom a service-oriened organizaion o one ocused on educaion

policy was a naural shi or NNSOY, Basset explains. Aer her year o recog-

niion as New Jersey Sae eacher o he Year, Basset coninued working wihhe program and is paren organizaion, he Naional Sae eachers o he Year,

and over he nex decade saw an enormous change in wha newly mined Sae

eachers o he Year knew abou policy when hey were seleced. Basset atribues

his shi in par o he availabiliy o inormaion and resources hrough social

media. Virually all o our Sae eachers o he Year are on Facebook or witer,

and heyre barraged wih knowledge and inormaion, she says. According o

Basset, aer learning so much during heir year o recogniion, Sae eachers o

he Year are only hungrier o coninue making heir mark in he educaion policy

and advocacy world, as hey ener ino wha NNSOY calls heir years o ser-

vice aer heir year o recogniion.

Trough NNSOY, members are able o paricipae in research projecs, work-

ing wih parners such as Cener or Educaor Eeciveness a Pearson and he

American Insiues or Research. NNSOY currenly works under a commitee

srucure so when an organizaion member wans o ge involved wih a research

projec, hey can join is research commitee. Basset expecs ha as he organiza-

ion grows, i may have o move o an applicaion process or various projecs. Tis

summer NNSOY will release heir rs whie paper on wha heyve deemed he

ve missing srucures in eaching ha keep i rom being viewed as a rue proes-

sion.72 Teir second whie paper, which is jus geting underway, will ocus on he

curren sae o eacher leadership.

NNSOY members will also have he opporuniy o lead virual circles

online communiies creaed o allow members o connec wih oher educaors

who have similar ineress, and explore a opic in deph. While one mus be a Sae

eacher o he Year o aciliae he virual circles, anyone can join he discussion

orum. NNSOY also oers monhly webinars led by educaion expers, includ-

ing Charlote Danielson, Rick Hess, and Rachel Curis, which are open o he

broader public. Tis summer NNSOY is hosing is rs conerence ha willocus on he criical relaionships ha successul eacher-leaders build wih ve

groups o sakeholders: colleagues, sudens, policymakers, key inuencers, and

communiies. Te conerence is open o all educaors, and Sae eachers o he

Year are encouraged o invie eachers rom heir schools.


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NNSOY members and leaders work closely wih he Naional Educaion

Associaion and he American Federaion o eachers. In paricular, NNSOY

eachers are working wih he NEA on projecs relaed o eacher leadership and

building career-ladder srucures or eachers, or wha NNSOY reers o as

career coninuums. Meanwhile, he AF has provided assisance in research

around he career coninuums, in which NNSOY is engaged wih Public Impac,a nonpro organizaion ocused on improving learning oucomes or all children

in he Unied Saes, and Pearson. Te unions look o us as eacher leaders and we

look o hem or inormaion and or assisance so we have good relaionship wih

boh, Basset says.

Tough NNSOY experienced is rebirh less han a year ago, Basset is con-

den ha he organizaion is headed in a direcion ha will help elevae eacher

voice. Te mos exciing hing is ha we have a unique opporuniy righ now

o ruly impac eaching and o help proessionalize i, she says. She believes he

ime is ripe or organizaions such as NNSOY. We have an opporuniy o helpgrow oher eacher leaders and o creae a powerul orce wihin he proession o

help change i rom wihin, Basset says.


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| www.acap.

Profiles: Teacher-voice fellowships

Pl: tac-c llwp | www.acap.

Te ollowing ellowships are branches o organizaions ha run oher pro-

grams in addiion o eacher-voice eors. Tese organizaions include: America

Achieves, a nonpro advancing high-qualiy educaion sysems, which launched

he America Achieves Fellowship or eachers and Principals; he Hope Sree

Group, which aer several years as a nonpro dedicaed o healh care, jobs, and

he workorce, as well as educaion, creaed he Naional eacher Fellowship;

and he U.S. Deparmen o Educaions eaching Ambassador Fellowship, which

began a he suggesion o a eacher who a he ime was a Whie House ellow.

Les look a each more closely.

Founded: September 2010

Fellowship director: Sibyll Carnochan Catalan

Membership (number of fellows, past and present): 107 el-

lows81 teachers and 26 principalsrepresenting 27 states and the

District o Columbia

Mission: To inuence practice, policy, and the public conversation to

create world-class schools or all students

What makes it unique: Fellowship is intentionally aimed at

teachers and principalsMatchmaker Model

Issue areas: Common Core State Standards (creation and imp

mentation), teacher proessionalism (evaluation, compensatio

career ladders), and education technology

Funding: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bill & Melinda Gates Fou

tion, Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and the Noyce Found

Location: See membership above


America Achieves: America Achieves Fellowship or Teachers and Principals, or AAFTP 73


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Te America Achieves Fellowship or eachers and Principals, or AAFP,

began in Sepember 2010 wih a cohor o 50 eachers and principals. In 2012

i expanded wih he addiion o 60 more ellows. oday AAF has ellows in

27 saes and 50 disrics hroughou he Unied Saes.74 Te AAFP is in he

process o deermining is growh modelmos ounding ellows have decided o

say on, bu AAFP is considering a graduaion program ha exis ellows ou ohe program aer a predeermined amoun o ime.

In is selecion process, AAFP looks or eachers and principals who are highly

eecive in heir schools and disrics, bu he group also deliberaely ocuses on

ensuring a diverse cohor. AAFP recruis purposeully so is ellows represen

he wide range o eachers in he proession: rom years o experience o eachers

in radiional and charer schools o conen area o union membership or leader-

ship o race and ehniciy. Te inen is o avoid he rap o having wo or hree dis-

inc groups o eachers who could organize hemselves around one aspec o heir

jobs. Te manra ha we use is ha were all in his ogeher and ha we willcome up wih he bes soluions i we learn how o lisen deeply o people wih di-

eren opinions and move orward, even wih dierences, says Sibyll Carnochan

Caalan, execuive direcor o AAFP.

AAFP ellows are expeced o underake individual or group impac projecs

ha inuence pracice, policy, and he public conversaion in heir respecive

saes and disrics. Based on heir area o impac, AAFP ellows receive raining,

connecions, and guidance or heir paricular projecs rom he sa a America

Achieves. Beyond ha, he AAFP convenes wo on-sie group conerences

per year or is ellows and hoss webinars and mini-conerences around specic

policy issues such as he Common Core Sae Sandards or eacher evaluaion.

America Achieves does no have a predeermined se o policy iniiaives or ellows,

bu raher i encourages ellows o choose policy opics based on individual ineres.

We don, as a ellowship, have a paricular opinion or agenda abou wha policies

he ellows hemselves should espouse, Carnochan Caalan says. AAFP insead

acs as a machmaker in an eor o pair educaors wih curren policy opics. Te

Naional Governors Associaion, or example, approached America Achieves abou

having an AAFP principal and eacher speak wih governors abou using suden-achievemen daa in ormaive assessmens. So we looked hrough he experise and

skills o our ellows and we could have picked 50 o hem, bu we sen wo o speak

wih he NGA, Carnochan Caalan says. We don ell hem wha hey should say

abou i; we mach hem wih he opporuniies o say wha hey hink.


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Beyond individual projecs and group, in-person conerences, and online mee-

ings, AAFP inroduces ellows o policymakers and hough leaders across he

counry. In some cases, AAFP ellows have provided advice o policymakers.

According o Carnochan Caalan, AAFP ellows have had discussions wih

naional leaders, including Secreary o Educaion Duncan, Rep. George Miller

(D-CA), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), New York Ciy Mayor MichaelBloomberg, Disric o Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson,

Los Angeles Unied School Disric Superinenden John Deasy, as well as ohers.

In addiion, wo ellows are members o he Gaes Foundaion eacher Advisory

Council, a hree-year commimen ha aords ellows he opporuniy o advise

he Gaes Foundaion policy iniiaives.75

And while AAFP ellows are working wih heir local unions on individual

impac projecs, AAFPs posiion on eachers unions remains neural. We do

deliberaely bring union voice ino our evens as one piece o he conversaion

because is criical, and hisorically [unions] have played an imporan role, buwe don have an opinion abou wheher olks should or should no ge involved

in heir unions, Carnochan Caalan says. AAFP has ormed relaionships wih

oher eacher-voice groups and has worked mos closely wih he Hope Sree

Group and each Plus. In a parnership wih each Plus, America Achieves cre-

aed a Common Core webinar or each Plus ellows, and in urn, each Plus

helped America Achieves develop specic policy skills and knowledge or heir

respecive impac projecs.

As or wha is nex in he eacher-voice movemen, Carnochan Caalan canno

make a predicion. I will say we have people in ears when our conerences end

because hey ge he energy and connecions ha hey need o go back o heir

classrooms and schools where someimes hey eel alone, Carnochan Caalan

says. When heyre wih heir peer group in he ellowship hey don eel alone

and hey eel like hey can keep going and say a classroom eacher and school

principal, bu I can ell you 5 o 10 years, I don know ye.


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Te Hope Sree Groups Naional eacher Fellowship grew ou o a 2009 eacher-

evaluaion projec ha brough ogeher eacher leaders rom across he counry

o develop a policy paper. When he Hope Sree Group decided o creae a ormal

eacher-ellowship program in 2011, hey called upon several o he eachers rom

he 2009 group o be par o he ellowships inaugural year. According o Wendy

Upain, depuy direcor o eacher engagemen a he Hope Sree Group, he el-

lowship is mean o build eacher leaders by providing ellows wih boh he skills

and experiences needed o engage wih and direcly impac he developmen o

policy around he issue o eacher evaluaion.77

In is rs yearwhich ended up exending ino an 18-monh ellowshiphe

eacher ellows ocused mosly on helping he Hope Sree Group develop is

eacher Evaluaion Playbook, an online ool ha provides sraegy suggesions

or eecive educaor-evaluaion reorm o sae policymakers while a he same

ime giving adminisraors, union leaders, and eachers suggesions on how heycan ge involved.78 Wih he second ellowship class, he Hope Sree Group is

working o expand ellows experiences beyond he eacher Evaluaion Playbook

by having hem work on eacher-evaluaion design and implemenaion in heir

respecive schools, disrics, and saes.

Founded: May 2011

Fellowship director: Wendy Uptain

Membership (number o ellows, past and present): 2513 in the

frst year, 12 in the second yearrepresenting 10 states and the

District o Columbia

Mission: To transorm the teaching proession and improve out-

comes or students by spreading implementation o widely accepted

and eective educator-evaluation programs built with the involve-

ment and input o teachers

What makes it unique: Fellowship that is nationally organized

with a ocus in one state, detailed program with scaolded trainin

and skill building, each ellow has an individual project, designed

directly impact their particular school, district, or state

Issue areas: Teacher eectiveness, Common Core State Standard

and teacher proessional development

Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corpora

o New York, and Rodel Foundation o Delaware

Locations: See membership above


Hope Street Group: National Teacher Fellowship76


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Te Hope Sree Group opened is 2013 Naional eacher Fellowship applicaion

o all eachers across he counry, bu argeed is promoion o he program in saes

ha have curren or upcoming eacher-evaluaion policies. Saes ha won Race o

he op money also ook promoional precedence. In he end, nearly 100 eachers

represening 27 saes applied or he Hope Sree Groups 12 ellowship slos.79 Te

applicaion consised o a leter o recommendaion and ve narraive-response ques-ions. Finaliss were hen inerviewed by phone and he 12 ellows were hen seleced.

Mos o ellowships opporuniies and communicaion akes place online, wih a

handul o in-person meeings hroughou he year. Te ocus o he 2013 el-

lowship is local policy. According o Upain, I you are going o make an impac

naionally and be able o share somehing wih each oher, i depends really on

wha youre doing in your own sae. Te rs hree monhs o he ellowship

exposed eachers o curren eacher-evaluaion policies and how o engage wih

policy design and implemenaion hrough media; learning how o advocae

or policy hrough social media, opinion pieces, leters o he edior, and more;and learning how o share heir knowledge wih policymakers. Te program

also encourages ellows o complee an individual projec during he ellowship.

Everyones projec is going o look a litle bi dieren, depending on where

heyre a because saes and disrics are so dieren in where hey are in eacher

evaluaions, Upain says.

Leaders o he Hope Sree Groups Naional eachers Fellowship view i as

anoher avenue or eachers o have heir voices heard, recognizing ha, o dae,

eachers unions have been he sole voice or eachers. We value he inpu o

every sakeholder and ha includes unions, Upain says. We loop in all dieren

sakeholders wih he goal o developing beter policy by having all o he voices

involved. In ac, many pas and curren ellows are union members, including

some who are union represenaives or heir schools or disrics. One o his

years ellows is even a local union presiden.

Moving orward, he Hope Sree Group inends o coninue anchoring is el-

lowship in subsanive policy experiences and opporuniies, wih eacher evalu-

aion being a he cener o he ellowship or he oreseeable uure. According

o Upain, Is key o remember ha jus having eachers be a par o hings righnow because were in he implemenaion and design sage doesn mean ha

here is no going o be a need or eachers laer on as we go orward wih revamp-

ing hese hings and improving hem.


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Moreover, he Hope Sree Group is expanding he ellowships impac by

launching a sae ellowship modeled aer is naional eor. Recenly, he Hope

Sree Group debued is Kenucky eacher Fellowship in he sae wih join

suppor rom he Kenucky Deparmen o Educaion, he Kenucky Educaion

Associaion, he Kenucky Chamber o Commerce, and he Prichard Commitee,

a leading Kenucky educaion-advocacy organizaion. Te ellowship debued inJune 2013 wih nearly 20 ellows represening various geographic locaions and

regions hroughou he sae. Te Hope Sree Group has also engaged in conver-

saions wih several oher saes abou evenual parnerships.

As or he eacher-voice movemen, Upain sresses ha i canno simply be a

passing ad.

Were ransorming he proession as a whole, so ha eachers eel more valued.

Te idea is building in leadership opporuniies or eachers so ha hey can

boh say in he classroom and pursue leadership. I hink wih ha, is goingo atrac more people o he proession, bu hen also reain eachers who are

currenly in he proession who may be burning ou, providing hem dieren

opporuniies so ha hey say.80

Founded: Fall 2008

Director: Gillian Cohen-Boyer

Membership (number o ellows, past and present): 80 total12

ellows in 20122013 class representing seven states and the

District o Columbia)

Mission: The Department o Education believes that teachers should

have meaningul opportunities to contribute to and understand the

policies that impact their students and school communities

What makes it unique: Washington, D.C., ellows take a leave rom

their classrooms to work directly in the Department o Education

oces or one academic year. Classroom ellows work part time

between 20 and 40 hours a monthwhile teaching. All ellows a

expected to inorm the Department o Education about its progra

and policies based on their on-the-ground experience

Issue areas: Federal-policy initiatives; ellows have lead input on

RESPECT project, Race to the Top, School Improvement Grants, an

early learning and high-school redesign

Funding: Government program

Locations:See membership above


U.S. Department of Education: Teaching Ambassador Fellowship81


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A ellowship housed a he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion hardly seems o in

among a group o grassroos organizaions, bu i came ino being because an indi-

vidual eacher poined ou he need o bridge he gap beween wha proessionals do

in classrooms and wha policymakers do in Washingon. In 2007 Jocelyn Pickord,

a eacher in Fairax, Virginia, wroe her Whie House Fellows applicaion abou

his issue, and during her enure, shared he idea wih hen-Secreary o EducaionMargare Spellings. Spellings agreed and invied Pickord o help run he pilo or he

Deparmen o Educaion, which was dubbed he eaching Ambassador Fellowship,

or AF. Tere were 25 ellows in he rs class, he 2008-09 school year. 82

AF hoss wo ses o ellows: Washingon Fellows, who ake one year o rom

eaching and work direcly in he Deparmen o Educaion, and Classroom

Fellows, who work on projecs while coninuing o each in heir respecive

saes and disrics. Te Deparmen o Educaion calls on each se o ellows o

illuminae he angible qualiies o ederal policy and how he on-he-ground

implemenaion o hose policies is playing ou hroughou he naion. We havea lo o people a he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion who have augh, bu you

very quickly lose ha realiy, says Gillian Cohen-Boyer, direcor o AF. Te

Washingon Fellows can oer a curren classroom perspecive, and even more so,

he Classroom Fellows, because hey are sill doing i every day and can hereore

ell us wha happened yeserday and whas going o happen omorrow.

By allowing eachers direc inpu ino he Deparmen o Educaions pursuis,

he ellowship creaes a beter eedback loop beween leaders creaing ederal-

educaion policy and classroom eachershe main purpose o AF, according

o Cohen-Boyer. We ell h

Documents

New Organizations, New Voices