The VIVA Project is a nonprofit organization that equips education leaders with insights from classroom teachers to improve education policy.
The VIVA Project: Voice, Ideas, Vision, Action! An opportunity to collaborate with other teachers, any time, any where
The Goal of the VIVA Project is to identify ideas and opinions straight from the classroom, work together to create actionable policies to improve public education for classroom teachers and their students, and deliver them directly to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Develop
ed by some of the country’s top campaign professionals, The VIVA Project is a different (and easy) way for you to make a difference in public education.
This is SHAMEFUL Chicago, Detroit, Boston. When are all our public officials going to stop playing games with students and teachers. What do you think teachers can do to show the investment isn't just needed, it's deserved? http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2016/03/09/dps-rhodes/81528678/
Transition manager Steven Rhodes again urged lawmakers to act soon to pass reform legislation.
What can educators do to put their best professional foot forward? What happens when public policy is made against the worst instead of for the best http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-vergara-tenure-battle-20160225-story.html
An overflow crowd at a Los Angeles appeals courtroom listened attentively Thursday to the latest round in an ongoing argument about the intersection of students’ rights and teachers’ rights.
REALLY? Do you agree that we don't know how to educate poor kids? Isn't it more that we don't invest adequately in doing what we know? http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/stop-humiliating-teachers?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=
The U.S. has a tendency, when there’s an economic or social crisis, to affix unfair blame on public-school teachers.
Do you wish you wrote this piece? In a world where "PD" was banned, what would you call it? How would you do it? http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2016/02/no-more-professional-development.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw
To truly support teachers in their efforts to improve student learning, maybe we need to stop doing professional development.
If "hiring of new teachers will continue to trail the production of new teachers." What do we do about "spot shortages" http://www.caldercenter.org/missing-elements-discussion-teacher-shortages?utm_content=bufferba088&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer =lvy8BW
ME, MA, VT, CT, NY, & RI Friends, Neighbors & supporters of New Hampshire educators, please share this link and help add new educator voices http://vivanea-nh.mysocialsphere.com This goes for everyone else too! Let your NH friends know.
Are you an introvert? Does that REALLY mean you can't succeed as a teacher? http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/why-introverted-teachers-are-burning-out/425151/
Educators are feeling drained by the insistent emphasis on collaboration and “social learning” in America’s classrooms—and that’s taking a toll on kids’ learning.
The headline says" Study Calls into Question the Effectiveness & Fairness of Teacher Observation in Evaluation" VIVA network teachers have been pretty firm about training observers, multiple observations and the use of observations for both evaluation and professional growth. Does this research change your mind?http://scholar.gse.upenn.edu/steinberg/files/steinberg_examiningteachereffectiveness.pdf
John King, Acting Secretary of Education, live now from Philadelphia. Share your thoughts
Hi VIVA friends Does this ring true to those of you in Ohio? How does it compare to other states, you non-Ohios? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/14/teacher-ive-loved-my-very-difficult-job-but-now-ohio-has-made-it-impossible/
As we always say, "Talk to a Teacher" A blog post for the end of week 1, 2016. http://vivateachers.org
Be careful what you wish for? How would you define & measure "Much Greater" "Consistently underperforming" and "Substantial" Unhttp://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/12/everyone_agrees_that_the_brand.html
WOW. What if the wonks actually asked teachers to participate in this design contest! Let's GO FOR IT The VIVA Project Teacher Network! Sign up on our website if you want to participate http://edexcellence.net/articles/accountability-under-essa-announcing-a-design-competition
Thank you President Obama for the leaderships on reducing violence. And, thank you teachers in America for your daily work at the front line of the scourge of violence, your vision for a real, permanent solution and the bravery to agree to disagree on the role of gunshttp://vivateachers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/VIVANEA_IE_final_web.pdf
Doing the Testing Dance: PAARC, SmarterBalance, ACT, SAT, "MAAARC"...states are playing & paying to shift tests. What test does your state use? How long has it been since the last switch? If you ruled the world, what single, statewide, all-in assessment would you use? Why?
Nebraska teachers: There's a new kid on the block & we're excited to meet with them and bring teachers' voices to their work. http://ow.ly/WBcXI Let us know if you are interested in learning more
The group's director says the organization aims to offer ideas on all K-12 matters, including Nebraska's new school accountability system.
After a 2 week break, we kinda feel this way too. Let's make back to school week great and connect! Visit us this week: www.thevivaproject.org. Happy New Year to all!
How is your state going to change now that the federal law has changed? http://educationpost.org/if-they-can-make-progress-in-washington-cant-we-do-the-same-here-in-illinois/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Acct&utm_content=TwAcctProgressEE1
From my vantage point in Chicago, these past few weeks were surreal on the education landscape. In Washington we saw an all-too-rare but wonderful example
Have you ever advised a student to op-out of an assessment? What do you do to help students see the value of assessments? http://chicago.suntimes.com/education/7/71/1171698/cps-parcc-test-skipped
About 11 percent of eligible Chicago Public Schools students — or tens of thousands of kids — skipped the PARCC test last spring, according to data released by the state this week.
Very thoughtful piece on teacher voice in education policy w/ advice for teachers & policymakers.
http://bit.ly/1PQji56
Tell us what you think. What has your experience been?
A political perspective on teaching as a profession
The VIVA Project is proud to join forces with 40 other organizations to launch the Campaign today. This campaign seeks to engage teachers in the conversations that matter to them, their profession and their students. Read VIVA CEO Elizabeth Evans' statement on this work in her blog entry - bit.ly/1O1QFjF
Do you like to go to school? Do your students? How would you use this info if you had it? http://educationpolicy.air.org/publications/students-speak-who-likes-school
In 2011, fourth- and eighth-grade students around the world were asked how much they agreed with the statement “I like being in school.” In this infographic, the first in a series, we explore students’ opinions about school—both domestically and internationally.
Imagine a world where teachers were in charge of testing students. ILLINOIS TEACHERS: that world is here today. Tell us how you use tests: http://vivaiea.mysocialsphere.com
A case for Common Core from our President Paul Toner. "We live in a highly mobile country and a globalized economy. It makes sense for students to be learning subjects in the same sequence so they aren’t repeating some topics – or missing others -- if they move to another state" Read his OpEd on standards & testing http://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2015/11/05/even_the_top_state_in_the_nation_needs_to_up_its_game_1239.html
Sullivan Elementary School third graders get a chemistry demonstration and lesson from Jeremy Smith at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, in North Adams, Mass. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (AP...
Despite the success that other high-performing nations have realized by modernizing and elevating the teaching profession, the United States has never made a serious commitment to professionalizing the teaching pathway. From selection and preparation to leadership opportunities and competitive compensation, the teacher career continuum lags behind other professions, such as medicine, law, and engineering. This event will unveil a diverse and powerful coalition of 40 education organizations who have come together to call on our national leaders to make modernizing and elevating the teaching profession the top education policy priority in 2016 and beyond.
The VIVA Project is a member of this coalition and we encourage you to learn more. Take a look at the invitation and please consider attending the Teach Strong launch event Nov. 10th
http://bit.ly/1LMhrvz
Despite the success that other high-performing nations have realized by modernizing and elevating the teaching profession, the United States has never made a serious commitment to professionalizing the teaching pathway. From selection and preparation to leadership opportunities and competitive compe…
VIVA CEO Elizabeth Evans writes on teacher leadership on our website: Teacher Leadership Requires Teachers - The NEA and VIVA Couldn’t Agree More! bit.ly/1Q6AGmz
Let us know what you think and share your stories.
Nov 2, 2015Casey LazorBlogTeacher Leadership Requires Teachers — The NEA and VIVA Couldn’t Agree More! By: Elizabeth Evans Teacher leadership cannot happen without teachers. Unfortunately, in most aspects of how our public schools work, teachers are all too absent from important leadership positio…
A really great day yesterday in DC at the Teacher Leadership Initiative (TLI) led by the NEA. The VIVA Project CEO, Elizabeth Evans, was there as was VIVA teacher leader Rich Rosivach.
Great conversation about how teachers need new leadership roles outside of the classroom. Teachers are critical to leading change in support of student learning and success and are very much up for the challenge.
What's happening in your districts? Are there opportunities for teachers to lead within AND beyond their classrooms? Share your stories and continue the conversation about the leadership capacity and opportunities of teachers.
StoryCorps - a non-profit whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs - has a great project for teachers to assign over Thanksgiving. Their goal is to work with teachers and high school students across the country to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend.
Take a look at their teacher toolkit and see what you think.
https://storycorps.me/about/the-great-thanksgiving-listen/
This piece from the nprEd team will hit home with teachers in or remembering their first year of teaching. Teachers involved in the VIVA Project would argue that on-boarding, mentoring and professional development in general would be stronger and better aligned with teachers' needs if teachers were consistently at the policy tables where decisions are made and these initiatives are developed.
What do you remember about your first year of teaching? And what suggestions do you have for local, state and national policymakers for supporting first year teachers?
http://n.pr/1jD5i2N
Getting through October and November can be tough for first-year teachers. Having someone along for the ride can help, and a veteran teacher near Miami offers hope and advice.
Teachers what do you think? Can you use this to help encourage your students to think beyond High School? Is that the best approach to getting students to make High School matter? https://bettermakeroom.org/front
Educators: What approaches do you use to involve students "in the study of complex issues, systems, big ideas from the full realm of human experience" Are you time-pressed to achieve this? http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2015/10/14/the-triumph-of-training-over-education/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCoreKnowledgeBlog+%28The+Core+Knowledge+Blog%29
Closing the Achievement Gap: Teaching Content
What's your experience with PD meetings? http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/30/is-collaborative-pd-time-being-wasted-in.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw-tm Do you think these teacher-envisioned solutions are more desirable than better meetings?http://vivateachers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/VIVA-MET_Final_for-web-only2.pdf
Kathryn Parker Boudett, co-author of Meeting Wise: Making the Most of Collaborative Time for Educators, offers ideas on what makes school-based meetings work well—and why they often don't.
In a world where educators designed all assessments, What would you do Illinois teachers? http://vivaiea.mysocialsphere.com
How many of you have had parents ask these kind of questions? Does your school emphasis sharing this kind of information with parents & community? http://thenotebook.org/blog/159061/citizens-guide-choosing-best-school-for-your-child
As the father of a kindergartner currently attending a Philadelphia school, I’ve been following the recent flap over Philadelphia Magazine’s photo for its October cover story “A City Parent’s Guide to
Fascinating questions about risks/opportunities from technology for Teacher Collaboration. What do you think--is teacher planning a school-by-school exercise or can it be bigger, broader and still work in any/every classroom? http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/30/lesson-sharing-sites-raise-issues-of-ownership-use.html
Key sources of common-core related PD, online lesson sites for teachers come with fine-print complexities.
3023 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
60657
Building a network of professionals one classroom educator at a time
We believe in the power of inspiration that grows from real life experience. And we believe in the power of individual voices to make big change.
We know that experience brings wisdom and that people with experience should be asked to share their expertise and ideas more often.
New voices can often make a real difference in getting past old conversations or tough impasses and make a big difference in improving the status quo.
Public officials need to hear directly from people doing the work.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The VIVA Project posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to The VIVA Project:
MacFarlane for Board of Education
GastoniaCouncilmember At-Large Sharon Vaughn
City Hall, PhiladelphiaGuilford County - Social Services
W Market Street, GreensboroGrow With Vicki Jo - Ward 4 City Council
Red Wing 55066Molly L. Dennis- Rochester City Council ward
4th Street SE, Rochester
Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE)
W. 35th Street
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
N. Lincoln
chinese-american museum of chicago
W 23rd Street
Driehaus College of Business Undergraduate Pr
E Jackson Boulevard
#}
