Member News -- August 2, 2016
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Connections, Collaboration & Conviction
2016 NNSTOY Teacher Leadership Conference

For four days in July teacher leaders from around the country shared their stories, classroom strategies and experiences at the annual NNSTOY teacher leadership conference, held this year in Chicago, Illinois. Not only did our conversations trend on Twitter, but they have sparked new NNSTOY initiatives around educational equity and race. (Check out Anna E. Baldwin's post-conference blog article about race and equity.)

NNSTOY would like to thank our sponsors for their strong support of the 2016 conference. They not only provided donations that made the conference possible, but by their presence, energy and ideas, they contributed to building those bridges between theory and practice!

Still to do:
  • Please check out buzzworthy highlights from the conference at our docs.com page. 
  • Download presentation decks.
  • Take a few minutes to lend advice to the conference planners by taking the conference feedback survey no later than Wednesday, August 10.
  • Mark your calendars for the 2017 conference July 15-18 in Washington, D.C.
Rebecca Wattleworth, Jennifer Smith, Jacob Carlson and Virginia Valdez prepare for their July 22 presentation on ESSA. 

Taking it to the States
Agents for Learning 

Four members of NNSTOY from Illinois recently presented recommendations for their state's plan around uses of Title II in ESSA.  The Agents for Learning challenge was a live-streamed event that featured the top 12 finalist teams - representing 56 teachers, administrators, and learning leaders from 12 different states - presenting their plans to an esteemed panel of judges. The teams are now working to present to their state education officials their proposals, each of which advocates that group's idea for the best use of federal funding for professional learning under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Illinois NNSTOY team lead Rebecca Wattleworth (2012) described the team's  experiences as as "phenomenal." Her highlights included: prepping with coach Leah Lechleiter-Luke (Wisconsin 2010), listening to other teams' plans and offering advice, presenting their plans to a panel of distinguished judges and receiving their feedback.  "I learned so much," Wattleworth said. "It was very interesing talking to teachers from across the U.S. and [hearing] what issues they are dealing with and how they propose to solve it."

Presenters for the team included Wattleworth, Jennifer Smith  (2015), 
Jacob Carlson  (2015) and  Virginia Valdez  (2013). Joe Fatheree (2007) and Lynn Gaddis (1995) assisted. This year's National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes (New Jersey) served as a judge.

Up next for the team: presentation to their state!  View the presentations  from all of the teams.
NBCT Cheryl Redfield and NNSTOY Anna Baldwin attend an ECET 2 Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
New Ways to Engage
Strategies to lean into NNSTOY teacher leadership, understand member benefits and engage with the organization.

NNSTOY has received grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to hold five regional ECET2  meetings in the  coming   months, each organized in collaboration  with STOYs and their associated state chapters across five states.

State chapters include: New Jersey, Utah, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and we are also working with STOYs in New Hampshire and Vermont to host a fifth ECET2 in New England. Each ECET2 convening has a distinct theme based on what is current challenges and opportunities within the state; the organizing teams are made up of NNSTOY members who have previously attended an ECET2 convening. 

ECET2 stands for Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers. It was born out of a desire to provide a forum for exceptional teachers to learn from one another. NNSTOY members who would like to get involved in one of this year's ECET2 state events may contact those working on the projects. 
New  Jersey: Jeanne Muzi, Peggy Stewart, Jeanne DelColle, Diane Cummins, Maryann Woods-Murphy, Danielle Kovach, Kathy Assini and Chelsea Collins
New Hampshire/Vermont: Angie Miller, Katie Farber, Luke Foley, Katie Sullivan, Karen Heath and Heidi Welch
Pennsylvania: Cindy Ollendyke, Fran Nesta, Michele Fowkes, Mairi Cooper, Denise Williams, Jolene Barron   and Lora Sypal
Utah: Leigh VandenAkker, Gay Beck, Mohsen Ghaffari, Melody Apezteguia and Allison Riddle
Mississippi: Stacey Todd, Stacey Donaldson, Mary Margarett King, Birdette Hughey, Anna Morris, Brad Shonk  and Ginger Tedder
New Board Members on Board        
       
In July NNSTOY held elections of the Board of Directors, with these results:

Jemelleh Coes (Georgia 2014), Harriet Sanford (NEA Foundation) and Dyane Smokorowski (Kansas 2013) were elected to the Board of Directors in July. Paul Ferrari (CCSSO) was elected as an ex-officio board member.

Bob Williams (Alaska 2009) and Margueritte Izzo (New York 2007) were reelected to serve on the Board of Directors. Peggy Allan (Illinois 1989) and Jon Quam (CCSSO) retired from the Board.
The Ultimate Teachers' Evaluation  
NNSTOY Conference Feedback

If you attended the NNSTOY teacher leadership conference in Chicago, please take a few minutes to give us your assessment about what worked, what didn't, and what we can do to continue to provide teacher leaders with an outstanding experience. 

The NNSTOY staff and conference committee take your advice very seriously and count on your candid feedback to improve the conference each year.
 
Take the Survey Monkey no later than Wednesday, August 10. 
Washington Policy Update

Proposed Rules for Innovative Assessments.
I n an effort to help states offer better and fewer tests, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states opportunities to experiment with new forms of testing by participating in an Innovative Assessment pilot. These new assessments can be tested on a small scale and later implemented statewide.  To facilitate this experimentation,  the U.S. Department of Education recently released proposed rules for participating states. Learn more in an EdWeek testing cheat sheet
by Alyson Klein.

ESSA Guidance. Public Impact has issued a guide for states interest in implementing the ESSA effectively. The report, ESSA, New Law, New Opportunity, makes interesting recommendations about teacher leadership: 

"If you want learning outcomes that really prepare students for their future-and a strong teaching workforce that achieves its potential-you need a new approach. The success of your educators and their students depends not just on the talent you attract and keep. Schools and districts must be designed specifically to spread a culture of excellence in order for excellence in teaching and learning to prosper.  School design is not enough, though: The right people-your best teachers and principals- must be entrusted with responsibility for all students, and for helping their colleagues succeed at the same level. "  
ED Names New Teacher Liaison
Celeste Rodriguez Jensen

The U.S. Department of Education has named Celeste Rodriguez Jensen to serve as the new Teacher Liaison. 

Rodriguez Jensen is a former Philadelphia reading, language arts and special education inclusion teacher at the middle school level. A native of Austin, Texas, she comes from a family of educators. She has worked for the past five years in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education on migrant education. She also  chairs the U.S. Department's Hispanic Employees Council, which unites the diverse population of Latinos at the Department through networking, professional development, and cultural celebration. 

"I understand the importance and power of teachers' voices and [I] look forward to amplifying that voice in our work at the U.S. Department of Education," she told us. 

Celeste takes the position formerly held by NNSTOY's Director of Communications and Marketing, Laurie Calvert. Please feel free to welcome Celeste to NNSTOY by sending an email to Celeste .Rodriguez@ed.gov.   
W hat We Are Reading
New and noteworthy ideas about education from around the country.


Rebecca Mieliwocki with her tribe in Beijing.
Shout-outs, Kudos & Accolades*
News from the NNSTOY community
  • Anna E. Baldwin's blog article Walking two worlds: How I humbled myself and became an effective reservation teacher was published on Head in the Sand. The article highlights teacher mistakes many beginning teachers have made, such as teaching The Education of Little Tree as part of authentic Native American culture. She offers great advice from her experience: "Since most teachers are non-Indian, their experiences do not usually reflect the culture of the students they will be teaching. Instead, actively take the position of a learner. Humble yourself before the community you will serve, so that you allow yourself to be taught."
  • Rebecca Mieliwocki (California/NTOY 2012) traveled to Beijing, China in June with a delegation from California State University, Northridge. She participated in a US-China Education Think Tank Dialogue on educational research, policymaking and innovation in the knowledge-based economy. Mieliwocki presented on personalized professional development for instructional leaders, participated on a panel on teacher quality with Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Fernando Reimers, and visited several schools to explore student-centered enrichment programs. Interestingly, the school tours coincided with the national college entrance exam-the Gaokao. The entire country was holding its breath as seniors everywhere sat for this extremely high-stakes test. 
  • Maryann Woods-Murphy's (New Jersey 2010) article "Teens Talk About Racism" was published at Education Post and on the NNSTOY blog site. Woods-Murphy is the co-chair of Teens Talk About Racism. She writes, "I recognize that in a nation haunted by racism and the consequences of failing to eradicate it, students can help lead the way to better days."
  • Huge thanks go to Steve Bongiovi (New York 2005) for his critical help during the conference in Chicago. Bongiovi volunteered to do anything NNSTOY needed--from handing out drink tickets to taking on the raffle for our scholarships. This year's raffle sales topped $2,393 and easily broke last year's record.
  • Cathy Whitehead's (Tennessee 2016) "Teachers, I'll See You on Twitter" was published in EdWeek and the NNSTOY blog space. Her article is about the growth she experiences by surrounding herself with teachers who don't always think like she does. Whitehead writes that spending time with her new tribe, the class of 2016 STOYs, has pushed her thinking: "They push and challenge, argue and debate, and I have come to treasure the differences among us just as much as I do the similarities. Because of them, my perspective has broadened, shifted and changed." 
  • June Teisan (Michigan 2008) has been featured on the Smithsonian Institution's Stories from Main Street. In the article about her, Teisan describes how she "sparked an interest" in science among the seventh graders who she taught and how she created a safe space for students to learn. 
  • Lyon Terry (Washington 2015) had his article How should we measure school success? Now is your chance to weigh in published in the Seattle Times.
  • Steve Wyborney (Oregon 2005) has just published Writing on the Classroom Wall, a book that details the first 12 years of his journey in the classroom and shares 24 Big Ideas. A central theme of the book is the relationship between our beliefs about our students and their own self-identities.
  • Allison Riddle's (Utah 2014) "No App Can Replace Mastery" has been published by EdWeek and NNSTOY. She writes, "Over the last ten years as a fifth grade teacher, I have noticed a change in attitudes about learning. Both students and parents have grown increasingly frustrated when asked to take time to rehearse and apply critical math and reading proficiencies. Our Generation Z students and their parents are used to retrieving information instantly and being entertained constantly."
  • Rich Ognibene (New York 2008) recently spoke to superintendents in western New York about creating sustainable teacher-leadership roles in schools. At the end of the month, Ognibene will provide a keynote speech to 600 New York teachers about keeping the humanity in our profession.
  • Daniele Massey's (DoDEA 2013) article "Even in Virtual Classrooms, Teachers Build Bonds that Help Students Learn" was published in EdWeek and on the NNSTOY blog.

NNSTOY supported the Teach to Lead summit in Minneapolis in late July. Maddie Fennell (Nebraska 2007) Cheryl Anderson (NNSTOY Board) served as critical friends. Terry Kaldhusdal (Wisconsin 2007) and Janet Traynor (Wisconsin 2013) worked on a team from their state. 

*If you have items of interest about yourself or other members, please forward them to laurie@nnstoy.org.

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