Investing in Teachers to Transform Schools

This piece was written by Natalie Cooper-Berthe, parent of two children attending the Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School. This post appeared originally on May 23, 2013  on Inspired Teaching's blog.

I want to tell you a story about why I think I am so lucky to have my kids enrolled at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School.

My kids came from a well-known and highly regarded DC school. We had some amazing teachers. We had chefs who made our kids lunches. We had a playground. We had an incredible parent community. We had bilingual education. We had it all–or almost all. I planned to be part of that community through the 6th grade–longer if the school was able to establish its planned secondary school.

I made a last-minute decision to apply to the lottery to enroll our two younger children in the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School—mostly because my (then) 2nd grader was not thriving in his current environment. In fact, he was barely surviving. He hated school. He had near-daily stomachaches. I actually kept him home from school at least one day (or more) a month, just to give him down time. It was heartbreaking.

Like many introverts (and kids), he could have a hard time with transitions, so when he got into the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, we arranged for a half-day visit, just in case we decided to take the spot. His father and I were very unsure, and expected some friction. After the half-day school visit, we got friction alright, but it wasn’t because he was going to a new school next year. Our son wanted to start at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School that day! He talked about his “new school” incessantly all summer. We’d never seen him act this enthusiastically about school. Ever.

But that’s not what sold us on the value of the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School. That came a couple months into the new school year when we realized that we hadn’t yet had a single “tummy ache day.” When his teachers and others reported back that they never saw any of the familiar signs of stress. When going to school wasn’t a dreaded chore. When our usually quiet son had turned into a chatterbox with folks outside our immediate family. When my mother called me up and asked, “What is going on with him? He’s so outgoing!”

Outgoing? In a few short months, my son became actively engaged with the world around him. He asks questions constantly. He’s developing confidence. And he’s learned to LOVE learning, and even to LOVE school.

There is no price tag for that.