Raising the Voices of Teachers

October 14, 2016

Never has it been more important to include the teacher’s voice in discussions about education policy. Changing demographics, changing standards, new technologies and urban unrest all signal a world in flux. Who knows better than teachers the consequences of these and related changing conditions on the learning experiences of children? We must move their voices from the margins of education discourse to the center. Only then can we build on their informed expertise as we chart a responsive course to education reform.—Anna Richert, Founder of Mills Teacher Scholars and Professor Emeritus, Mills College At education conferences, workshops on teacher leadership or at education policy gatherings, it not uncommon to see a roomful of academics, administrators or education leaders without a teacher in the room. And when there are teachers present, they are often not the people presenting or facilitating. Ensuring that teachers go public with their learning and creating opportunities for teachers to have a voice in the dialogue about education reform and educational equity are key organizational values for Mills Teacher Scholars. Through their work with the Mills Teacher Scholars, teachers have the opportunity to develop their professional voice and connect with the larger education community. Like national organizations such as the Centre for Teaching Quality (CTQ) or the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, we advocate for teachers to be “in the room where it happens” (to borrow a phrase from the musical Hamilton) and actively contribute to conversations that influence conceptions of teaching and learning in our schools. Some recent examples of teachers going public with their learning include:

2016-17 School and District Partners

October 13, 2016

Our 2016-17 site partnerships are going strong. With twelve site-based groups and five cross-site groups supported by our Teacher Scholar Leader Network and Principal Inquiry Network, we are working with over 345 teachers, coaches, and principals from across the East Bay. School-Site Partnerships The...

How Can Inquiry Support New Teachers?

August 24, 2016

          Aija Simmons Often, new teachers spend their first school year feeling overwhelmed. Learning new curriculum, lesson planning, understanding school wide systems, and developing classroom management expertise add up to many moving parts...

Survey: The Results of Our Work

August 16, 2016

One facet of the Mills Teacher Scholars multi-pronged evaluation process is surveying participants to understand the impact of our teacher-led collaborative inquiry on: Students’ learning Teachers’ capacity to engage in inquiry Quality of collaboration with colleagues We are excited to...

Results From Our Partner Sites

June 24, 2016

This year, Mills Teacher Scholars facilitated teacher learning through collaborative inquiry with fourteen different teacher scholar groups. The focus in all groups is on supporting collaboration, data analysis, and equitable student outcomes through responsive and differentiated instruction. Mills Teacher Scholars facilitators carefully adjust program design to...

Igniting Student Learning at Life Academy

June 23, 2016

At a full day staff retreat at Mills College in June, teacher scholars from Life Academy’s Humanities Department shared the results of their year-long inquiry projects on supporting their Long-term English Learners. Teacher scholars from this Oakland Unified 8th-12th grade school gave...