a different way to make a difference

It was nice to talk to other teachers about problem solving. We are in the trenches. We know what we need. It was nice to not have to explain everything we do before we get to what we needed changed.
— Anonymous, Teacher, ISEA: Re-imagining School Leadership

Participating in the VIVA MET Writing Collaborative has been a life-changing experience for Kelly Waller.

By Kwesi Ndzibah Every teacher I know has complained about the “higher ups,” and how things would be different if they “just listened to us.” Too often, feeling over matched, they acquiesce and then fall back into cynicism, certain “they” wouldn’t listen anyway. Several years ago, while teaching 8th grade math in New York City, [...]

Mark Anderson worries that by adhering too strictly to Common Core standards, we risk overlooking the role of literature in ELA.
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Glenn Morehouse Olson has some thoughts on testing and evaluation. Glenn Morehouse Olson teaches high school journalism, theater, writing, and literature in St. Francis, Minn. She participated in the VIVA Minnesota Idea Exchange on principal evaluation.

By Kim Farris-Berg, Special to VIVA Teachers Let’s drop our assumptions about the nature of teaching jobs, and imagine something … Read More

On May 14, 10 teachers, who participated in the VIVA Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) Idea Exchange, traveled to Washington, DC, for … Read More

From a piece by Richard Lee Colvin. Each of these anecdotes represents a facet of a small but rapidly growing national movement to give … Read More
Kori MIlroy, Grammar School Science, Chicago, IL
Why Education Reform Needs Data
by Lesley Hagelgans