Making Learning Joyfully Rigorous for Students

Dear Friends,

Below we’ve highlighted a few of the many inspiring stories our supporters made possible in 2009. Highlights include the successful launch of a new teacher certification program, induction of our 14th class of Inspired Teaching Institute teachers, and plans in the works for a demonstration school. If all goes as planned, 2010 promises even more growth. That means more children than ever have access to the rich, rigorous, and relevant instruction Inspired Teachers make possible.

I am so grateful for the many individuals, foundations, and corporations that have kept Inspired Teaching moving forward. It is hard to believe, but this spring we’ll celebrate 15 years of operation in Washington, DC. I look forward to sharing many more stories like the ones below in the months that lie ahead.

On behalf of the entire Inspired Teaching family I wish you the best in 2010 and hope that your year ahead is filled with realized potential.

Very best, Aleta

Stories from the Classroom: 1. In the summer of 2009, Maya Garcia took the Inspired Teaching Institute and credits that experience with "revolutionizing" the way she approaches her work in the 2009-10 school year.

Maya revamped her school's science fair, moving from the traditional poster-board displays and cookie cutter projects to using digital presentation software and authentic student-driven inquiry and research. Presentations included: using a pediatrician's hearing test machine to evaluate the sound-canceling effects of different types of earplugs, and investigating the effects of mints and music on test-takers' concentration. 2. Gabrielle Tucci is a first-year high school English teacher, and Inspired Teaching Fellow. But five months into the school year she already does much more than simply teach English at Friendship Collegiate Academy.

Within days of starting at Friendship, Gabby became the first female teacher of the RoboKnights robotics club - making it possible for female students to participate in off-campus competitions. So far this year the girls' team has been raking in the wins, claiming victory in a November championship in North Carolina.

Gabby also bakes for almost the entire student body every Sunday. She started the wildly popular "Brownie Mondays" as part of an effort to promote tutoring in her classroom after school.

3. Every year Inspired Teaching partners with schools across the city preparing and supporting educators to practice, defend, and advocate for a child-centered approach to teaching. This year partnerships include Oyster Bilingual, Arts and Technology Academy, and Next Step Public Charter School.

But interest in this instructional approach goes well beyond the District of Columbia. In the past few months we've had educators from Tajikistan and the Rural China Education Foundation visit our staff to learn about our work and discuss ways our teaching methods can be shared with schools in their countries.

Dear Friends,

With another school year underway, Center for Inspired Teaching continues to provide intensive mentoring and transformative coursework to District of Columbia Public School teachers and schools. Each day we’re reaching thousands of children with challenging lessons, engaging activities, and teacher support. Our high-quality teachers are making an impact in all grade levels throughout the city. I would like to share a few powerful stories of change involving new teachers that are part of our newest initiative, the Inspired Teacher Certification Program:

1. At the beginning of the school year, a student in Inspired Teaching Fellow Tim Street’s kindergarten class destroyed the class sign-in sheet, frustrated that she could not write her own name. A few weeks later with Mr. Street as a teacher, she called him over to see the perfectly formed “S” that she made on the sign-in sheet. As he enthusiastically congratulated her, the student lingered over the page, writing more and smiling all the while. Initially, Tim and his Inspired Teaching Mentor had concerns about this student, who had difficulty adjusting to school. With her significant victory over the sign-in process, the student has become motivated, eager, interested, and cooperative!

2. When Hart Middle School lost power in September, Inspired Teaching Fellow Travis Barnwell used the opportunity to give his 8th grade students a cultural lesson. He shared his teaching experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, Africa, where students went to school and learned without electricity every day. The class also received lessons in Sesotho, Lesotho’s native language. While other teachers allowed their students to sit unengaged, restless in class or roam the dark halls, Travis provided engaging instruction that piqued his students’ curiosity and expanded their knowledge.

3. Inspired Teaching Fellow John Fantuzzo is currently teaching a unit on Ancient Greece to the students in his 9th grade English class. Though it is the second or third time that these students are taking the course, they have been fully engaged in making connections between their lives and the ideas of ancient philosophers.

After reading about Plato’s Ring of Gyges, a mythical artifact that makes a person invisible at will, the students wrote about and shared what they would do if they could be invisible. John’s class responded to the statement “People are only good because they fear getting caught” in their journals. The students were asked to split into groups based on whether they agreed or disagreed with the prompt. Groups developed points to defend their stance and began a thought-provoking debate on morality that involved everyone in the classroom. Some felt that belief in a higher power motivates people to behave morally, whether they ran the risk of being caught or not. Other students felt that even if a person tried to do good deeds with the Ring of Gyges, he or she would inevitably hurt someone. The debate ended without establishing a “correct” answer, but all students left class intellectually challenged and deep in thought.

Inspired Teaching Fellows are new teachers enrolled in the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, having a positive impact on hundreds of students’ lives in DC public schools. Fellows are selected through a rigorous application process and receive intensive mentoring and research-based coursework that addresses national standards for teacher preparation. Inspired Teaching Fellows are committed to education, social justice, and most importantly, improving education in the DC community. Fellows connect with students every day, assisting and challenging them to achieve beyond their perceived abilities.

If you would like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities for the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, please contact Eneida Alcalde at eneida@inspiredteaching.org or at 202 462 1956.

We hope that you are enjoying the new school year. Many thanks for your ongoing support!

Very best, Aleta Margolis Executive Director

P.S. I've been nominated for the 2009 Jewish Community Hero of the Year for Center for Inspired Teaching's work to transform education, and I'd love to have your vote. You can click here to vote: http://shar.es/1sn6A. No registration is required and voting ends just before midnight on October 7. Thanks very much for your support!