Michael Savoy The incoming president of the National Education Association, Lily Eskelsen García, recently urged teachers to revolt. “Stop listening to phony reformers,” she said. “And stop listening to those good-hearted and absolutely wrong people and do the right thing with kids. We are the educators, the professionals. We actually know what to do with children.”
Fierce words, for sure. But the underlying sentiment is a common complaint: Education reform is often done to teachers and schools rather than with them. Yet there are several organizations in the education policy world that try to improve student outcomes by working closely with teachers—organizations like Teach Plus.
That’s why I reached out to Michael Savoy, a national coach with Teach Plus. Michael is a former teacher who went on to work for DC VOICE and Pearson. He’s also done research on the role of users (teachers, students, and parents) in designing education processes. When he arrived at Teach Plus last year, he brought years of experience working with teachers, as a colleague and as a collaborator.
Michael started at Teach Plus as a leadership coach for the T3 (Turnaround Teacher Teams) initiative, where he worked with exceptional teachers who wanted to lead others without leaving the classroom. He coached teachers to develop and facilitate high-functioning, high-impact grade-level or content team meetings. In his current position, Michael plays a similar role but helps teachers facilitate group-learning sessions on topics related to the Common Core.
He’d also be more than happy to be stranded on the MARC, is father to both Pinky and the Brain, and called me out for being imprecise. Overall, an excellent conversation. Check it out below.
Fierce words, for sure. But the underlying sentiment is a common complaint: Education reform is often done to teachers and schools rather than with them. Yet there are several organizations in the education policy world that try to improve student outcomes by working closely with teachers—organizations like Teach Plus.
That’s why I reached out to Michael Savoy, a national coach with Teach Plus. Michael is a former teacher who went on to work for DC VOICE and Pearson. He’s also done research on the role of users (teachers, students, and parents) in designing education processes. When he arrived at Teach Plus last year, he brought years of experience working with teachers, as a colleague and as a collaborator.
Michael started at Teach Plus as a leadership coach for the T3 (Turnaround Teacher Teams) initiative, where he worked with exceptional teachers who wanted to lead others without leaving the classroom. He coached teachers to develop and facilitate high-functioning, high-impact grade-level or content team meetings. In his current position, Michael plays a similar role but helps teachers facilitate group-learning sessions on topics related to the Common Core.
He’d also be more than happy to be stranded on the MARC, is father to both Pinky and the Brain, and called me out for being imprecise. Overall, an excellent conversation. Check it out below.
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