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Keeping students at the center at UAGC in NYC

When Brent Chamberlain began at the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers—a public high school that does not choose students based on their test scores, attendance, or parent/family support—the school ranked in the bottom 1% of schools in New York City.

As Brent put it: “Something had to change.”

Changes came a few ways. Keeping the curriculum “student-facing” established greater student ownership and agency. “We want students to be doing that important, metacognitive work of planning their learning against established standards—work that teachers, or administrators, or educational publishers too often steal from the students,” Brent said.

Implementing mixed grade classes honored the diverse perspectives and experiences of students, and offered differentiation to best serve each student.

Collaborative structures kept students at the center, thanks to the teacher-powered autonomy enjoyed at UAGC.

Read the story of UAGC from Brent Chamberlain.

Having the power to disagree: Building trust in teacher-powered schools

Danny Flannery sat in a staff meeting. He was new to the school—there only as a student teacher—and was nervous to speak up. But when an idea came to him, he voiced it.

That’s when the principal shot it down: “I don’t agree with that at all.”

Danny was dumbstruck. I should have known my place, he thought. But Danny soon learned “his place” was not to be quiet and roll over. It was to speak up. His school, teacher-powered Mission Hill K-8 School in Boston, is committed to running democratically.

“This staff did not come together by accident,” one colleague said. Rigorous and respectful debate, Danny came to understand, was essential to how their school was governed and how their students were served.

Read Danny’s blog on how debate and disagreement built a culture of trust.

Come together this fall in Boston

We’re excited so many of you have chosen to join us at Designing for Success—the 2018 Teacher-Powered Schools National Conference, November 30-December 2 in Boston. For those still considering, some things to keep in mind:

Sessions are organized around four strands to guide your experience:

  1. New to Teacher-Powered? (Think of this as the rookie track.)
  2. Transforming Teaching and Leading
  3. Student-Centered Learning: Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
  4. Supporting Teacher-Powered through Districts, Unions, and Networks

Meet the presenters.

School site visits are filling, but still available. This is a special opportunity for conference-goers that past participants have found invaluable. Said one: “Seeing these schools in practice, implementing similar visions, encouraged me to think further about our own model.”

Get a sense of what you can learn
visiting other schools with the

Teacher-Powered School Site Visit Guide.

The regular registration deadline is November 15. A 15% discount is available for teams of four or more. Hotel reservations at the Hyatt Regency Boston must be made by November 1 to receive the discounted conference rate.


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