Member News -- May 9, 2017
Keynote speaker Dr. Marc Brackett

Recharging the Teaching Soul
Connecticut Empowered to Lead Symposium

Connecticut State Teachers of the Year and Finalists got great feedback on their
Chris Poulos (Connecticut 2007), Marguerite Izzo (New York 2007), David Bosso (Connecticut 2012), Megan Allen (Florida 2010), Chris Todd (Connecticut Finalist 2014), Peggy Stewart (New Jersey 2005).
2017 Empowered to Lead Symposium, held April 27 at the Mohegan Sun Convention Center. One participant described the event as "a much need day to recharge the teaching soul!"
More than 240 teacher leaders from six states gathered as NNSTOY members presented keynotes and conference sessions. Dr. Marc Brackett, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, offered the opening keynote. Manuel Zaldivar, a 2016 CT Milken Educator Award recipient, delivered the lunch keynote address. Learn more on the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council's webpage.
Save Your $$
Attending Our Teacher Leadership Conference

Registrations are coming in for NNSTOY's annual teacher leadership conference in Washington, D.C. July 15-19 -- the best educator-bonding, professional development of year!

To save money, take advantage of the Early Bird Rate by registering by June 1, 2017, AND book your hotel room before the NNSTOY block closes June 6.

Everyone who registers as an Early Bird and is an NEA member qualifies to be eligible for one of 10 NEA $600 scholarships!

While you are on the conference webpage, sign up for our Day on the Hill and make your selection for the Day of Service. You can also peruse the agenda and check out the speakers.
New Ways to Engage
Plug into teacher leadership outside of your school.

STEM Teachers, Tune In!    ASCD will be hosting an interactive webinar. Join to access FREE STEM resources and to learn how to navigate and integrate. Tune in on Thursday May 11 at 6 PM for Igniting the Spark: Engaging Secondary Students in Real-World Problem-Solving. Register on the ASCD site. 

Fighting Poverty with the Classics.    Steve Perkins  (IN 2014) celebrates ten years of his "Reading the War on Poverty project." Through the project, students donate one day to a classic literature read-aloud in an effort to raise money to fight poverty in Indiana. Help them reach their fundraising goal by sharing this short video with your students and in your networks.

Tune in to Last Week's NNSTOY Webinar. Last week Walden University and NNSTOY hosted National Teachers of the Year for an inspiring webinar about what they do to maintain their passion for the profession.  

Rebecca Mieliwocki (2012) talked about how her district reduced teacher dissatisfaction by holding a moratorium on new initiatives and letting teachers direct their own PD. Sarah Brown Wessling (2010) reminded us that renewal is both intentional and counter-intuitive. Sean McComb (2014) used a mental model called developing an "ethic of care" to sustain him.   Shanna Peeples (2015) shared about how to harness the power of small wins. Watch the conversation in the webinar archive. 

Job Opportunity at ETS
Senior Director of Programs

ETS is looking for a new Senior Director of Programs. The Senior Director of Programs is a highly skilled and proven leader who is passionate about and committed to changing the life trajectories of high school students who are traditionally underserved and underperforming by creating opportunities for these students to attend a high performing high school, prepare them to graduate, and support them to succeed in college. Download the job description (with links to apply).
What We Are Reading
Interesting and emerging ideas about education from around the country
"Learning's Lousy Adoption Curve," Will Richardson,  Modern Learners
"Practice What You Teach," Robert Pondiscio, Fordham Institute
Education Dive  

(Back row)  Tim Schnoeker (Illinois Finalist 2010),  Jacob Carlson (Illinois Early Career Finalist 2014),  Brent Bigham (Maine Finalist 2015),  Joe Fatheree (Illinois 2007), and  Steve Elz  (Illinois 2015). (Front row)  Jennifer Dorman (Maine 2015),  Jennifer Smith (Kansas Finalist 2014),  Kim Thomas (Kansas Finalist 2004),  Rebecca Wattleworth (Illinois Finalist 2012),  Pam Reilly (Illinois 2014),  Karen MacDonald (Maine 2014) and  Katherine Bassett (New Jersey 2000).

Illinois Chapter Teacher Leadership
Powered by Teach to Lead

State Teachers of the Year and Finalists from Illinois hosted a powerful teacher event last weekend. More than 120 attended, including participants from the Illinois State Board of Education and the state teachers union. To learn how the Powered By events run, three members from Maine attended and served as critical friends.

NNSTOY members gave remarks in keynote and breakout sessions. Our own Katherine Bassett even delivered the opening and closing keynotes! Jason Helfer (Illinois State Board of Education) remarked that listening to Katherine speak at a previous event shifted his entire mindset on licensure for teacher leadership.
New & Noteworthy
Tools and opportunities to support #TeachersLeading



2017 Building a Grad Nation Report  (America's Promise Alliance)
Hall of Fame
2017 Inductees

The newest inductees into the National Teacher Hall of Fame were honored at the White House along with 2017 State Teachers of the Year.

Here they are waiting in the wings with Katherine Bassett (New Jersey 2000):  Ashli Skura Dreher (New York 2014) Bob Williams (Alaska 2009) and  Matinga Ragataz (Michigan 2011).
Kudos, Shout-Outs & Accolades*
News from the NNSTOY community

Allison Riddle (second from the left) presented a TED-style talk in Phoenix last week at the Kids at Hope Conference. Riddle was asked to speak after organizers read her EdWeek article, " The Difficult and Satisfying Run of Working with Defiant Students."

Allison Riddle's  (Utah 2014)  "Take After School Programs Off the Political Chopping Block" was recently published in EdWeek and on the NNSTOY Blog. In her piece, Alison takes a stand and criticizes budget cuts to after school activities.  " Cutting federal funding for afterschool programming sends an ugly message to Americans of all incomes. It's like saying that providing these experiences is not of benefit to our communities, and continued learning during the hours of 2-6 is valuable only to those of privilege."

"If Only You Could Go Back..." is Chris Gleason's (Wisconsin 2016) feature article in the Wisconsin School Music Association's publication,  The Wisconsin School  Musician. Gleason urges educators to celebrate the progress that we have made through consistent and thoughtful self-reflection. "Great educators constantly contemplate and wrestle with ways to better reach and inspire all students." 

" I just lost my job. This happens in education all the time. I was new to my district, and my district needed money, and a whole bunch of us had to go." In his EdWeek  piece titled "What I Want for My Next Teaching Job,"   
Tom Rademacher  (Minnesota 2015) takes time to reflect on the specific qualities he is looking for in a school environment and in school leadership. Read more on the NNSTOY blog. 

Thanks to Justin Darnell (Colorado 2010) for sharing a new initiative started by teachers in Denver Public Schools district. Teacher Home Swap gives teachers across the world the opportunity to connect, grow their network and even swap homes  during school breaks! 

Brett Bigham (Oregon 2014) has had a great May! First, Brett's blog "I Was Every Teacher's Nightmare Until Mr. John Brandt's Class. Now, I'm an Oregon State Teacher of the Year" was published in EdPost this week. What's more:  Brett was recently selected as one of the NEA Foundation's Global Fellows and as part of his fellowship will soon be travelling to South Africa! Congratulations, Brett!

 "Want to Know if the New Standardized Tests Are Working? Ask the Students,"  is Allan Bruner's (Oregon 2006) latest EdWeek post.  In this bold piece, Bruner posits: "Do my students think the Smarter Balanced test is a valid assessment of what they know and can do?" Read on to find out!

*Send us your scoop!  If you have professional information to share in  Member News,
 please connect with laurie@nnstoy.org.

#TeachersLeading