Step 1: Collect Ideas of the Many
Teachers logon, register and join the conversation. For up to six weeks, 24/7, they share their thoughts on a specific question or problem needing a solution. Our expert moderator brings resources to the conversation.
Teachers can do three things, as often as they want: 1) offer an idea; 2) comment on someone else’s idea; or 3) vote an idea up or down.
Step 2: Summarize the Great Ideas
We select a representative Task Force of the most active members of the large group discussion. These dedicated teachers, with the help of our moderator, collaborate online and work to effectively represent the ideas of the large conversation. They summarize the ideas that have the highest support into an action plan and present an in-depth review of key findings and recommendations.
Step 3: Commit to an Action Plan
All participants in the conversation preview the Task Force and can start to engage in activities that create broad support for the solutions.
Step 4: Make Your Voice Heard
The VIVA Project connects Task Force members and discussion participants to policy makers to present task force findings.
And finally…STAY INVOLVED!
VIVA teachers stay connected even when we’re not working together on a specific problem. We provide motivated teachers a constant flow of tools and opportunities to share VIVA ideas with other teachers and to continue building a network of teachers who care about driving excellence in the classroom.
March 26, 2012 VIVA is featured on Education Next
March 22, 2012 Mark Anderson’s blog Integration, Inclusion, and Interconnectedness
March 17, 2012 CPS credits VIVA teachers for changes to vacation breaks.
March 14, 2012 Teachers from Districts 11, 15 part of VIVA project
March 10, 2012 Allan Fluharty quoted in NY Times YouTube Subtracts Racy and Raucous to Add a Teaching Tool
March 1, 2012 Mark Anderson’s blog post: Relationships Matter
February 29, 2012 Gov. Dayton, teachers propose ways to evaluate principals fairly, together
February 29, 2012 The Correlation Between Craft Brewing and the Craft of Teaching
February 28, 2012 More on Teacher Data Reports
February 26, 2012 Xian Barrett’s letter to the editor in the Chicago Sun-Times
February 24, 2012 U.S. Department of Education Asks Students for Education Startup Ideas
February 23, 2012 Longer School Days: 49 Teacher Recommendations
February 22, 2012 Xian Barret- Viva Teacher Gives Input at Chicago BOE Meeting (Video)
February 22, 2012 Press Release: Governor Dayton and VIVA Minnesota Teachers Usher in New Era of Collaboration to Advance Meaningful Evaluation of Principals
February 7, 2012 Teachers Want to Lead Their Profession’s Transformation
January 30, 2012 Next time, listen to the teachers
January 5, 2012 Teaching Matters Newsletter from Ed.gov
December 14, 2011 Chicago Sun-Times: Kori Milroy’s Letter to the Editor: Longer school day — do it right
December 13, 2011 Chicago Sun-Times: Is recess a human rights issue?
December 13, 2011 CBS Chicago: Teachers Suggest Ways To Use Time During Longer School Day
December 13, 2011 Alexander Russo blog: Eliminate the time wasters
December 13, 2011 Remainders: Injecting teacher voice into Chicago’s time debate
December 12, 2011 Catalyst-Chicago: Chicago teachers give their ideas for a longer school day
Marshall teacher joins reform debate
February 16, 2011
BattleCreekEnquirer.com
In December, Lesley Hagelgans, a Marshall Middle School eighth-grade language arts teacher, was among six teachers from across the country who met with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his staff as part of the VIVA Project, a national online forum for teachers to share ideas on federal, state and local education policy. Continue reading the full article at BattleCreekEnquirer.com…
Teachers carry their views on evaluations from online to Albany
February 7, 2011
GothamSchools.org
Teachers often complain that politicians and bureaucrats rarely craft education policy with an eye towards their experiences inside the classroom.
Hoping to help fix that problem, a new project has vaulted the conversations and insights of one group of New York teachers from online message boards onto the desks of the state’s top education officials. Continue reading the full article at GothamSchools.org…
The VIVA Project: What teachers told Duncan
February 3, 2011
The Washington Post
More than 150 public school teachers from 27 states, seeking to get their voices heard by education policymakers in this let’s-bash-teachers era, collaborated to devise solutions to problems that most affect their profession. They wrote their conclusions in a paper called “Voices From the Classroom,” and then, in a town where such reports are constantly released and then forgotten, they got to do something unusual: present them to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Continue reading the full article at The Washington Post…
Classroom Teachers Collaborate With Arne Duncan on Education Policy
January 27, 2011
The Huffington Post
…Far too many teachers believe that education policy, all too often, reflects worthy ideas but fails to address the reality of the problems they face within their classrooms. Teachers also know they have been missing from the debate about education policy, primarily because policy makers never ask what they think.
But that changed on December 17, 2010 when eight teachers from The VIVA Project met at the Department of Education with U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan and his staff for one and half hours to discuss about “Voices from the Classroom” the Viva Project’s National Task Force Report. Continue reading the full article at The Huffington Post…
Two teachers in task force that met with education secretary
January 13, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Getting to share workplace recommendations and insights with the big boss is a rare and valuable opportunity for professionals.
Two Baldwin High School teachers recently got that chance when they were chosen to be among a group of six educators from across the country to meet with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan last month. Continue reading the full article at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…
Secretary Duncan Mines PD Ideas from Teachers
December 22, 2010
ED.gov Blog
Secretary Duncan exchanged ideas about professional development with six teachers from the VIVA Project’s National Task Force, who visited the Department of Education on Dec. 17 to present their recently released report, “Voices from the Classroom.” The report is the culmination of work done by more than 150 teachers from 27 states who worked together online. In her opening remarks, VIVA CEO Elizabeth Evans acknowledged to Arne, “The roots of this project are in the work that you are doing to bring teachers in,” including recent discussions that Duncan held with teachers from the Center for Teaching Quality and Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching awardees. Continue reading the full article at the ED.gov Blog…
http://abcnewspapers.com/2012/03/14/teachers-from-districts-11-15-part-of-viva-project/