Four years ago, we built the TNTP Blog because we wanted a digital space to wrestle with the big issues that were on our minds. Back then, we were thinking about questions like, how do we evaluate teachers in a way that is meaningful and fair? How do we make sure great teachers are valued the way they ought to be? What should a career ladder for teachers look like?
Since then, we’ve broadened the stories we tell. Now, alongside discussing teacher recruitment, training, and retention, we’re working to better understand student experiences and how the community and world a student lives in affects their learning.
A few months back, we realized that we’d outgrown our old blog a bit. We’ve written over 400 articles, and we wanted the blog to be easier to navigate, so readers could find the stories they care about most. We’ve added new kinds of content, including audio, slideshows, and photos. And you’ll find our posts divvied into three categories: Schools and Classrooms, Systems and Policy, and Personal Perspectives.
To celebrate these updates, we’re sharing some of our most popular pieces. We hope you’ll find something new to enjoy here. And let us know—what are you most interested in reading?
Schools and Classrooms
Helping Teachers Become Leaders
Teachers have lots of great ideas about how to improve their schools, but they’re rarely given a chance to try them. Former principal Erin Mack Trapanese discusses how Denver Public Schools is seeking to change that with their teacher leader program.
Engaged Parents and Communities: The Secret to Defying Expectations in D.C.
After serving as Chancellor of DCPS for five years, Kaya Henderson stepped down in September. Here, she shares her vision for effective community engagement, and how she hopes DCPS can sustain it.
In Class, Bored to Underachievement
Students who are busy with engaging content and discussions don't have time to goof off. Former teacher and current teacher coach Veeko Lucas discusses how we’re responsible for creating learning experiences that will stimulate the minds of those that do.
Personal Perspectives
Want to Improve Schools? This Fourth-Grader Has Ideas
When working to improve classrooms and schools, it's easy to forget how much we can learn from kids themselves. We asked fourth-grader Chance Wright about his school experience, and what he would do to make it better.
The Revolutionary Act of Pronunciation
Learning a child’s name enables a teacher to see that individual student, hear their voice, and understand them as a person who deserves the immense power of connecting to their history and identity. Leticia Hernandez-Linares discusses her experience as a student, with a name teachers often neglected to pronounce correctly.
3 Ways Teachers Can Support Special Ed Parents, Like Me
Lia Martin, mother of a boy with special needs, sold her home, quit her job, and hired a lawyer—all to get her son the education he deserved. She makes the case that no parent should have to go through what she did, and has advice for teachers who want to help.
Systems and Policy
During the confirmation hearings, time after time, when senators pushed DeVos to explain how she might approach a particular issue, she deflected. CEO Dan Weisberg discusses the questions we’re still looking for her to answer.
Giving Native Communities a Seat at the Education Policy Table
We spoke with Ahniwake Rose, the head of the National Indian Education Association, to discuss how schools can be better supported to engage productively with Native communities.
In Pinellas, Making the Shift from “Good Behavior” to Great Instruction
At a Pinellas Elementary School, proactive school discipline strategies have drastically reduced infractions and allowed school leaders and teachers to focus on challenging instruction. We spoke with the principal of Campbell Park Elementary School in Pinellas County and Campbell Park’s behavior coach to learn how they did it.
