Subject: Inspired Teaching's Feb. 2013 Newsletter: Partnering with Urban Districts to Transform Learning
From: "Aleta Margolis" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:18:06 -0500 (EST)

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Instigator of Thought
February 2013

In This Issue

From the Blog
Letter from Our Executive Director
Philanthropy Spotlight
Inspired Teaching in Action
Demonstration School

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From the Blog

Have you been reading our blog [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W1vp4x7ieXCRmgIG4tGRX-R403hi96_lNVnJUOByuMg1eg4zHYyHXBuTQ7i4YP7fn_WQbQ3MwfyFof_mbihLcOkacvc3h1WEnrL48ouKOyhaxospvJQsmZM]?
Our goal is to create a go-to space for examples of and discussions about what constitutes
good teaching and learning.

Here are two of our most recent posts:

The Tipping Point in Teacher Certification [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W0aQ5rjN8LuN8Z2Uk19gqEJADG7pGnLOMO_9FhSbKtCc80jo23YvSZkV29eGsfXeBdPDIiOKLhs0OrVTm7fELNFokfxGZQVMM1AF68uS49-YEwjXYfNhx3ibmcVDmYuURdAKNn4SvecwY-yj0GQI6atdgGFIY1UgVpxZbCMD987M134zz1z9gI0ZGGQ214T9s2MlJpY2JSGLQ==]

Joyful, Rigorous Instruction: Not a Pipe Dream [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W2y09Stc09PDTUT18HByXYA3J8gnnFmvQNlkNeGURl0FANQTbKNkBs0r9Y8bb2HqIJjn-wGn62XLEnEwV4A9cP1hTphZ7qHn1xcW5KMAO5jOQEjeuCDGxxzCq91lYJpKtPNXxtAIx6w-LfALymMemzTj9lQBbz-EmLhAemQD1LV5xdbWB_Y7PqlLCuR3jQMHT4-wkczDjyDlQ==]
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Donate Now

Help Keep Inspired Teaching Strong! [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W1OFG3Ch84h0nIP1lvA_NsF_Cr9SqhQ8OFvaEWf4AsblIlaaY4Hsh0UhBQXa57JP6yBiS0xVM06ZKjrb7dfpcRc7cg7u_V3Hw7l4G30GfhVhn6zart4h7w05jJ4gtRP_HA=]
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to
 building a better school experience for children by transforming the role of the
teacher from information provider to
Instigator of Thought.
Like us on Facebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W1x5PXnqy9fVr_Fs4Q8ufNu7ttkeaY6EqMGowVRHKHFHoF_AGD1UgwVXtPk6deBC8Vl16NJuMQlqX1M1Bw61Z1z_meAuczltnCNbW7UItS3s8Zkdx15WqTMUC-Wh9rwxv4=]
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1436 U st NW
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@inspireTeach
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Letter from Aleta Margolis, Executive Director

Recently, the federally appointed Equity and Excellence Commission [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W3FOFGyMy84qFBEw_OWh2CWUihKLlJybN6WoTXS4-GA1ATDAcaCfsa9MXftF7UMKRBopFou4cEbPlQxd6_FI2hZYjOUhsGhS4W3vO5JhKVOCkCGbo1fAKrJfu-1kF2MKVlz7DjyGH408fB-5EWTqBy-]
released its three-years-in-the-making report [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W3vwQCoJI3VBIW7fCVMtikLdreS0g7_W3VIuHwd_Rf0g1u_EH6tCYriJsf_hkmpQgYFZxbd37qvPqYdLxf-fa0wxwiLIYFAW2e0a0GKSmajMBxvPz5iTwgligrW427njb5ikXHAXAumbvc7AmDAeMxNEk5qKGYd_Dn6aQR_cfF07iycyut2KydEaEtRkJ9fA_Y=],
"For Each and Every Child: a Strategy for Education Equity and Excellence," which
offers a set of recommendations to eliminate what the commission calls a "staggering"
achievement gap for the 22 percent of American children living in poverty.
I was most drawn to the report's second of five sections, "Teaching, Leading and
 Learning Opportunities," which focuses heavily on how we attract, support, and 
retain the most effective teachers to schools with the highest enrollment of low-income,
minority students. When I read this sentence, "Imagine a school in which every student
has teachers with the training, supports, and colleagues needed to understand whether
and why a child is struggling to achieve," I immediately thought of Inspired Teaching's
work in partnering with urban districts to transform teaching and learning.
Inspired Teaching's comprehensive model prepares highly qualified teachers to enter
the profession, works with districts to shift the practice of current teachers, 
models this approach in a whole-school environment, and leverages relationships,
 technologies, and partnerships to influence policy. Our programs offer teachers
 a career ladder from teaching fellow, to teacher of record to teacher leader, and
on to master teacher and mentor.
We envision the day when every child will have an Inspired Teacher who teaches students
how to think, focusing on a deep understanding of content to prepare students to
 participate in society as creative problem solvers. We're privileged to work with
district leaders, school administrators, and classroom teachers who share this vision.

What can you do to help students faced with this staggering achievement gap? Let's
talk. Let's act. Let's get to work.

All the best,
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Philanthropy Spotlight

Inspired Teaching is fortunate to receive support from philanthropic organizations
such as the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, which is dedicated to assisting
low-income individuals and families. As part of its education focus, the Foundation
works to ensure that low-income students are prepared for self-sufficiency as adults
through its support of school-ready initiatives, high-quality teaching, extra academic
support and out-of-school enrichment opportunities, and career preparation, with
 a concentration on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

"Center for Inspired Teaching provides a unique approach to professional development,
and its focus on math instruction is aligned with the Foundation's education focus,"
said Amy Gross, Foundation Program Director, Education, Children, Youth and Families.
"Our goal is for teachers who participate in Inspired Teaching's innovative training
to not only increase the achievement of their students but to expose students to
 new critical thinking skills that will be crucial to their academic and life success."

An important component of the Foundation's strategic vision is to harness the exponential
power of combined resources directed toward a common goal. The Foundation aims, 
whenever possible, to be a connecting point--or even a catalyst--for collective 
engagement and work, consistent with the Foundation's mission.

For more information, please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W3rOFnN0fIXcwEEaJ3-AFPPqNtgjX-8DNZba4CEpfVijWbEmjpokcTRlzxUXs247JfpJfMdUO_IUHAHhN4CuUF0Cix_1xn0PIUBCE7141tE8F0M3Mw0s45z].

Learn more [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W3ddqk63wKCbs-IpWbhy1_zSDbSHJtNkiZD4PO9zJEMScJBXIxu3Vc9CjZfEgXpDOkqoC-KSW2zIoyN7I-4e_6he68DsUfe6gn4DU883Md9Zk5ODrSk-pPpNtcvyzVG1rcz_cBfRRBLESFYmPF3k-Li]
about the institutional funders that support Inspired Teaching's work to improve
 teaching and learning outcomes, especially for students in urban public schools.
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Inspired Teaching in Action

Application Deadline Nears for Teacher Certification Program

Education changemakers have until Feb. 28 to apply [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W1NID9MPD83_rbLWsUUlosu9gYKpwNT-zKhoJ7Q_nL5F1YHtPu_oTdB2OA9vJSSahMxTUqJIdCsps9yr33cvAmb6t3vOx-YUL-AAONaND7vhmYUwK5HsEeNhYzH-47vAEvBsHGeXnt9oez2RQ5gAeQpGd3BaAoesdN60Fplki8Gja331vOEDe7W2rFYtfXiycbwpi-8IVr5BwwaZUjeNSlB5fmlP_go4dKL0omuqE8VLvZiTbSQ62-9]
to the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, a state-accredited, 24-month teacher
preparation program that prepares, supports, and certifies highly qualified individuals
to become early childhood and elementary teachers in the District of Columbia.

Our certification program uses the unique structure of the residency model to prepare
new teachers. Based on the medical model, the residency model for teacher training
seamlessly threads theory and practice through coursework and clinical experiences
as participants work in the classrooms of veteran teachers during their first year.

Participants have a full year, not just a few short weeks, to develop the skills
 of engaging diverse students, managing classrooms, and planning effective lessons
by working alongside an experienced lead teacher. Just like physicians who first
 spend time working in a teaching hospital, teachers need structured, supportive
 environments to develop the skills to become quality educators.

A great certification program prepares teachers to be effective, stay in the field,
and remain committed to the profession. Of our program alumni, 91 percent are still
working in the field of education, with 75 percent of program alumni working in 
DC public and charter schools.

Help spread the word!

BLISS Teachers Create Rich, Relevant, Rigorous Curriculum

Inspired Teaching continues to push social studies teachers to think outside the
 box through our Building Literacy in the Social Studies [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W1B6ek8xMQbW-pgcdQo5-bVGPdWZtiLbD5Ixyg9XYN4kM_X1Npo8ONncsswXBXjpZPAB54Rh_qUTKt9C_BNEfSam-jRKLyIv3zORUsK7oNxffKcwXSvpUPziOle8mvBzOlcDqniFiPMvOEHGXAqJPPhymnqKkjy8Yk=]
(BLISS) program in DC. On Feb.15, our staff led a full day of trainings which were
open to all DC Public School middle through high school social studies teachers.
 Session topics included: using investigations of primary sources as assessments;
engaging students through historical art; rethinking readings about Africa; and 
deep dives into the middle school curriculum we're creating with teachers.

Inspired Teacher Crystal Wilson facilitated a session on the module we've created
together called "Choices and Change: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Actions Taken
in the Name of Reform." The module is designed to fit within the 8th-grade American
History course while using the Common Core [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W205GIG6HwrKQIY_pJb2tpMHOzxjb--Drtz7r_nrNeK-OuFv4B6IrAjamvhw8w5y_mM4A1UNdMSrVo558WvDjz0uS9_mQ4VsA-GxMVVowB7fA==]
standards to build literacy through content-specific reading and writing.

Session participants prepared for a writing assignment by weighing the consequences
of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry using actual balances. They assigned each
 consequence a value (using pennies as weights) based on whether it helped or hurt
the abolitionist movement. Teachers were thrilled with this very hands-on method
 of evaluating an issue.

Wilson's module looks at historical content but also brings the themes that emerge
from that content into a present day context. Her session included a panel of speakers
from present-day movements (animal rights, immigration, and the environment) who
 talked about how they weigh choices in how they approach their activism. This is
one example of how BLISS teachers are creating rich, relevant, and rigorous curricular
materials. It was a joy to share their hard work with the broader DCPS social studies
community this month.
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Demonstration School

Teachers and students at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001HXJMHexf1W2oTYehkupa-seCwbwrFqup7Q58IWFqUsvC-yXXkgYi59aImtUjIG8DAli3RwkX_IZjvuJ3r-xHzqlFOTFZXTKp2uN2AJFS8cFsMWUuwJlAuthCqEZLU_61QJSJLV-AYogLaQ5HgluMiOI36rdgtOS0_yXTtoOBTjDWVV2-AYvolA==]
just wrapped up the first of its two school-year Intersessions. This is a week during
which students study one topic in-depth--from a list of topics often not found in
the school curriculum--but which help them develop necessary habits of mind essential
to becoming critical thinking, innovative, self-directed, and active learners. Students
work in mixed age groupings, have different teachers (sometimes even parents and
 school board members), and spend several hours each morning engaging in deep inquiry
and hands-on exploration of special topics.

During a Friday, Feb. 22, tour, students were observed doing a variety of hands-on,
student-directed activities such as woodworking, clothing design, outdoor scientific
experiments, and filmmaking.

Inspired Teaching Deputy Director Kate Keplinger said of her classroom observations
during Intersession, "As I visited each classroom, I was struck by the palpable 
feeling of joy, and the clear intellectual, physical, and emotional engagement of
all the students and the teachers. And I was struck again--as I am almost every 
time I'm there--by how rare this is in schools."

Inspired Teaching Principal Zoe Duskin said that Intersession provides an opportunity
for enrichment and for Inspired Teachers "to match their passion for a particular
topic with the interests of their students." Duskin added that Intersession builds
the skills for high-quality science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) integration
across the school's curriculum.

"Think about the STEM content students are required to master as well as the skills
they need to develop," Duskin said. "Many of those skills are social skills/the 
habits of mind required for an active learner to be able to look at problems or 
dilemmas and get excited about solving them. Perseverance and self-direction are
 the most critical habits of mind required for innovation."

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