Investing in Teachers to Transform Schools

This season marks 30 years of Center for Inspired Teaching.

From the very first Institute of 1996to the 2025-2026 Teaching with Improvisation Fellowship that kicked off in June, and the many hundreds of professional learning programs in between, it is a joy to have reached so many committed, curious educators in the last 30 years.

And in reconnecting with some of those educators—check out recent issues of Hooray For Monday featuring Inspired Teachers from a 2011 Institute—we’ve been reminded of the many thousands of students who have benefited from the Inspired Teaching Approach. That’s why we have done this work for three decades—and plan to continue for another 30 years!

Here’s what we’ve been up to at Inspired Teaching:

• The Teaching With Improvisation Fellowship is a yearlong learning experience for teachers grounded in the art of improvisation and the 5 Core Elements that lead to an engagement-rich classroom. The Fellowship kicks off with a summer Institute in Washington, DC each June. Fellows study the Inspired Teaching Approach, learning to integrate an improvisational mindset into instruction, and collecting an array of tools and resources. During the school year, Fellows lead professional development for their colleagues and receive extensive in-classroom support from Inspired Teaching experts. We’re excited to work with this year’s cohort!
• In SY 25-26 we’ll continue our partnership with Rappahannock County Schools in rural Virginia. We’ve selected a group of high-performing teachers to serve as the district’s Inspired Teaching Support Team. They are leading district-wide professional development, teaching their colleagues about the 5 Rules of Inspired Teaching Improv, the ABCDEs of Learner Needs, and much more, toward the goal of fueling curiosity and increasing student engagement district-wide. Stay tuned for updates on their progress throughout the year.
• As we prepare for the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, we’re excited to continue creating space for young people to connect and communicate with one another through ongoing partnerships with 3 DC high schools—EL Haynes, Eastern, and Capital City—as well as new partnerships in New Orleans, Louisiana and Rappahannock County, Virginia. Students tackle current, complex, and controversial topics, such as lowering the voting age, school safety, criminal justice reform, and student well-being, with curiosity and respect for one another, in each Speak Truth seminar.

Links:

• http://www.inspiredteaching.org