Secretary Duncan announced the 2011-2012 Teaching Ambassador Fellows. To kick off the beginning of their fellowship, the new Fellows joined with former Fellows at the 2011 Summer Summit.

2010-2011 Fellows Steve Owens and Patrick Ledesma presented on teacher participation in education policy as part of a National Board of Professional Teaching Standards panel on Federal education policy.

Patrick Ledesma (2010-2011) represented the U.S. Department of Education at the Conference for International Society of Technology Educators in June.

Katie Taylor (2010-2011) was recently named the Director of Teacher Leadership Initiatives for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) in the state of Washington.

Jensi Kellogg-Andrus (2008-2009) is currently leading the efforts to develop the Learning Powers Program, South Dakota's Advanced Placement online program for rural students that do not have access to AP courses.

In conjunction with the Secretary’s visit to South Dakota, Sharla Steever (2011-2012) and ED’s Helen Littlejohn visited the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The two facilitated two teacher roundtables, one at St. Francis Indian School with Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Affairs, John White, and one at Sinte Gleska University with Bill Mendoza, Director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities. She also attended Arne Duncan’s Roundtable at Rosebud Elementary and Commencement Address at Sinte Gleska University.

Sinnea Douglas, a recent graduate from Gamal Sherif's (2011-2012) high school, was featured on the ED.gov website as a "Guiding Start of Education." Her spoken word/poem "When I become a teacher," was shared by ED's Elizabeth Williamson with teachers from Delaware as part of their back-to-school orientation.

Gamal Sherif (2011-2012) has been working with the Philadelphia Education Fund to develop teachers’ professional learning communities (PLCs) to involve teachers in the study and implementation of that city’s school policy.

Tammie Schrader (2008-2009) joined in the work of Dr. Matt Marino out of Washington State University to incorporate video games into curriculum and assessment for struggling readers, by piloting some of the games and providing feedback, allowing her students to participate in this state-of-the-art research.

The 2010-2011 Washington Fellows attended celebrations with the State Teachers of the Year (TOY), including an event in the Rose Garden with President Obama and Arne Duncan and a formal dinner at the Sphinx Club. At the TOY event at ED, 2010-2011 Washington Fellows led policy roundtables at a town hall with senior staff to capture policy recommendations and questions from participants on effective teaching, family and community engagement, teacher prep, school leadership, and school turnaround.

2010-2011 Fellows Laurie Calvert, Edit Khachatryan, and Leah Raphael sat on a panel at the School Leadership Program conference in DC, speaking to the needs of teachers and what great leaders can do to retain great teachers at their schools.

Leah Raphael (2010-2011) organized a policy briefing in Barnard, "Putting Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Path" with leading middle grades practitioners, researchers and experts.

Linda Yaron , Patrick Ledesma , and Laurie Calvert (2010-2011) spoke to a luncheon gathering at the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards about their experiences as Fellows.

The 2010-2011 Washington Fellows attended a full day briefing on the history of education reform at the American Enterprise Institute.

The 2010 Washington Fellows, Laurie Calvert, Nick Greer, Edit Khachatryan, Leah Raphael and Linda Yaron, presented collected data and recommendations on teacher messaging strategies to the Department's senior staff, in collaboration with leaders in the Office of Communication and Outreach.

With leadership from Jon Eckert (08-09) several Fellows including Bobbi Houtchens (08-09), Antero Garcia, Katie Taylor, Elaine Romero (09-10), James Liou (08-09), Linda Yaron, Michelle Bissonnette (08-09), Edit Khachatryan, Nick Greer, Tracey Van Dusen, Jasmine Ulmer (09-10), Leah Raphael and Steve Owens are completing case studies that will follow up on the Department's Labor Management Conference. The studies focus on model districts that presented at the Conference, including: ABC Unified (CA), Green Dot (CA), Denver (CO), Douglas City (CO), New Haven (CT), the District of Columbia, Hillsborough (FL), Baltimore (MD), Montgomery City (MD), Helena (MT), St. Francis (MN), Winston Salem (NC), and Plattsburgh (NY).

Nick Greer, Linda Yaron, Leah Raphael, and Edit Khachatryan enjoyed a brown bag lunch session on March 1st with Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Brenda Dann-Messier.

Laurie Calvert returned to her home in North Carolina March 2-4th and shared her experiences as a Fellow with the NC State Board of Education; to learn more, read her blog about one of the meetings.  Laurie also took some time to visit a couple great schools in Guilford County, including the Doris Henderson Newcomers School and Jamestown Middle School. 

Nick Greer, Linda Yaron, and Leah Raphael visited the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage on March 8th and offered ideas and discussed outreach tactics for teachers.

Lisa Coates visited the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on March 10th. She discussed her own work in Special Education with Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Alexa Posny and several other staff members. Lisa was also able to attend a presentation on value-added assessments where she discussed the uniqueness of evaluating Special Education teachers based on student performance. Lisa reflected on the day in a blog for the Department's website.

Patrick Ledesma served as a respondent for a webinar with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards on their newly released report, “Student Learning, Student Achievement: How Do Teachers Measure Up?” Patrick also attended the Association for Teacher Educators Conference in Orlando, FL this past February. To learn more, visit Patrick's ongoing blog on Teacher Magazine on EdWeek.

Antero Garcia, Jason Raymond (09) and Stephanie Canada (08) participated in English Language Arts and Physical Education Standards Review Committees for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards which kicked off March 10th.

Nick Greer attended the National Science Teachers Conference in San Francisco to discuss ESEA reauthorization with science teachers March 10-13th.

The Washington Fellows attended President Obama's speech on ESEA reauthorization in Arlington, VA at Kenmore Middle School on March 14th. Edit and Linda shook the President's hand!

The Washington Fellows enjoyed a brown bag lunch session with Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, Jim Shelton on March 15th.

Nick Greer was a panelist for the event: Navigating the Education World in DC, which was hosted by DC ASCD and Andrew Rotherham on March 16th.

Linda Yaron assisted in organizing and attended the International Summit on the Teaching Profession in NYC March 16-17th. Check out pictures from the event, the press release, and a blog from Tamra Jackson (09-10).

Steve Owens and Katie Taylor attended the National Art Education Association's 2011 Conference in Seattle, Washington March 18th-20th. Check out Steve's blog to learn more.

Leah Raphael and Edit Khachatryan visited John Liechty Middle School in Downtown Los Angeles on March 21st. Liechty is implementing the Diplomas Now early warning indicator and tiered intervention system, which uses City Year National service corps members, and Communities in Schools case managed supports to support teacher teams in reducing the number of students with off track indicators. Diplomas Now, a project led by Robert Balfanz and Johns Hopkins University, won a $30 million i3 validation grant to turn around persisting low-performing middle and high schools.  Leah and Edit also accompanied Greg Darnieder, the Secretary's Senior Advisor on College Access, in a meeting with key Los Angeles Unified School District staff to better understand the district's vision for secondary schools, college access and creating a college- and career- ready culture.

Leah Raphael and Edit Khachatryan accompanied Secretary Arne Duncan on March 22nd to Tichner Preparatory School, a K-8 school in Long Beach Unified, which was named a "School to Watch" in 2009 for their exemplary work in the middle grades.

Nick Greer presented for TEACH.gov and facilitated sessions at ED's Mathematics and Science Partnerships Program conference for grantees in San Francisco March 21-23rd.

Linda Yaron has worked within the Department to increase our ongoing dialogue with students and teachers. Specifically, she has started a monthly meeting with students from across the nation to meet with Secretary Arne Duncan and several other senior leaders to discuss topics such as teacher effectiveness, student engagement, equity and access in education. In addition, on March 23rd she organized and facilitated a discussion between DC public school teachers and the Department's senior leaders which will be continued in April.

The Washington Fellows enjoyed a brown bag lunch session with Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Kevin Jennings on March 29th.

The Washington Fellows enjoyed a brown bag lunch session with the Senior Executive Service member, Joseph Conaty on March 31st.

Leah Raphael and Edit Khachatryan attended an ESEA Community Forum at Fremont High, where the Secretary, senior staff and Teaching Ambassadors interacted with students, teachers and parents to discuss the key reasons for supporting ESEA reauthorization. Click here to read more about their time at Fremont.

Leah Raphael, Edit Khachatryan, Antero Garcia and the Department's Director of Community Outreach, Alberto Retana and Senior Policy Advisor, Steven Means conducted a  policy roundtable discussion at UCLA for students, graduates and staff of their Teacher Education Program and Principal Leadership Institute.

Edit Khachatryan accompanied Greg Darnieder, Senior Advisor to the Secretary on College Access, for a visit to Clark Magnet High School in Glendale Unified. They learned about how the school ensures students are college- and career-ready using data systems and processes that identify at risk students and provide interventions. Among many awards (Blue Ribbon, Title I Achieving), Clark has received an Exemplary Career Technical Education award, and has done an excellent job of integrating college, career and technical education, while maintaining a rigorous curriculum.

Tracey Van Dusen reported on a breakout roundtable discussion at the U.S. Department of Education Community College Regional Summit at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, IN. This summit, the third in a follow-up series to the White House Summit on Community Colleges, served to identify promising practices, challenges, and goals of community colleges.

The Washington Ambassador Fellows enjoyed brown bag lunch sessions with Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor on Early Learning; Martha Kanter, Under the Secretary; and Gabriella Gomez, Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs. 

Laurie Calvert wrote, designed, and released the video, "A Teacher's Guide to Fixing No Child Left Behind."

Steve Owens gave a speech in Burlington, VT on April 4th as part of a labor panel. The speech was entitled "Which Way Forward for Teacher Unions?"

Pam Smith presented at the Troy eCampus Colloquium April 12-14 on the topic of Tapping Federal Resources to Increase College Retention.

 Steve Owens attended the Teacher Union Reform Network's (TURN) national meeting with senior leader Jo Anderson April 15-16 in Boston, MA.  Read Steve's blog to learn more about it.  Steve also worked with Maureen Logan and Gary Obermeyer to create a Facebook page for the NE regional TURN.

Linda Yaron led the Student Voices Discussion on Effective Teaching and Learning Part 2 on April 18th in the Secretary's Conference Room. Several students led the discussion including one student from Project Voyce and another from the National Urban Alliance on Effective Education. Several senior leaders and Teaching Ambassador Fellows attended the event including: Secretary Arne Duncan; Chief of Staff, Joanne Weiss; and Director of Community Outreach, Alberto Retana. Read Lisa Coates's student, RaQuan Moore's blog about the event.

Tammie Schrader (08-09) attended the Washington Science Teachers Association Conference on April 18th with Heather McKean, Professor at Eastern Washington University.

Lisa Coates, Pam Smith, Tracey Van Dusen, Jemal Graham, Kristine Woleck (09-10) and Tamra Jackson (09-10) attended the "Champion of Change Series: Winning the Future Across America," a White House weekly spotlight on individuals who have done extraordinary work in their communities on April 22. These Fellows joined several teachers from across the nation to discuss the best options for improving our nation's schools. Check out some of the teachers talk about their work and their schools on the White House Blog.

Pam Smith accompanied Maureen Dowling, Director of the Office of Non-Public Education to the National Catholic Educators Association’s Conference in New Orleans April 25-27th

Lisa Coates and Patrick Ledesma attended the Council for Exceptional Children Annual Convention and Expo April 26-28th at the Inner Harbor Gaylord Convention Center in Maryland. This event offered more than 800 sessions on the latest in evidence-based practices and innovative technologies, products, and services.

Jose Rodriguez (09-10) came to DC to plant a Texas Live Oak Tree on April 28th outside of ED and to unveil the Green Ribbon Schools Competition.

Steven Berbeco (08-09) and James Liou (08-09) have been designated special consultants to the Boston Public Schools' Office of Teacher Development and Advancement. They are helping to design a teacher leadership website for the district and partnering with the TeachPlus organization to start a Boston Public Schools Teaching Policy Fellowship for the coming academic year.

Washington Fellows collaborated with Alberto Retana and other senior leaders in Voices in Action: The National Youth Summit on February 26th at Howard University in Washington, DC. Linda Yaron, Leah Raphael, Nick Greer, and Edit Khachatryan were honored to lead discussions with middle school students across the country about key issues such as college and career planning, parent involvement, and effective teaching. Laurie Calvert and John White facilitated a conversation with rural students. Read Laurie's blog to read more about what students are saying.

Linda Yaron worked with Alberto Retana, ED's Director of Community Outreach to launch ED's first ever Student Voices: A Monthly Discussion between Youth, Secretary Arne Duncan and other senior leaders on February 25th. The group was comprised of 10 youth from 6 groups participating in the National Youth Summit. Students spoke with Arne on the need to involve youth in decision making about their education at local and government levels, how their education is impacted by differential supports and resources, and that teaching and learning is more than taking tests. Before the meeting, students were given relevant selections of the Reauthorization of ESEA, the TAF blog on the topic of student voice, financial aid information, the 2012 Budget Summary, and information on Income Based Repayment- bridging students with policy.

Jeffrey Camarillo and Linda Yaron accompanied Secretary Arne Duncan for a TEACH event to inspire students to consider a career in teaching during a visit to Linda's school in Los Angeles, CA, Edward Roybal Learning Center on February 17th. Read Jeff's blog, "More Latinos Needed in Teaching" about the experience.

Michelle Bissonnette (09-10) played an integral role in developing and organizing the Department's first Labor-Management Collaboration Conference in Denver, Colorado on February 15th and 16th. Fellows from all three years presented qualitative research on the participating school districts and provided information on how other districts may apply similar strategies within their own communities. The participating Fellows included: Katie Taylor, Antero Garcia, Steve Owens, Tracey Van Dusen, Edit Khachatryan, Leah Raphael, Nick Greer and Linda Yaron from the class of 2010-2011; Elaine Romero and Jasmine Ulmer from the class of 2009-2010; and James Liou, Bobbi Houtchens, and Jon Eckert from the class of 2008-2009.

Steve Owens talks more about the excitement of the Labor-Management Collaboration Conference in his blog.

Antero Garcia attended the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Conference in New Orleans, February 14th-19th. Read Antero's blog, "Barrera Speaks the Language of NABE Teachers" to learn more about the emerging themes.

Lisa Coates attended the Teach For America (TFA) 20th Anniversary Summit at the Washington DC Convention Center on February 12th. Lisa spoke with about 100 attendees about the Reauthorization of ESEA, the Department's role in TFA, and the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Program.

Stephanie Merriott attended the Reading Recovery Conference in Columbus, Ohio on February 5th and 6th. Stephanie passed out information regarding ED's priorities and also answered questions in particular about the Fellowship.

Nick Greer organized an Education Policy Briefing on Effective Teachers—A Conversation with STEM Teaching Fellows on February 10th at the Department. Accompanied by five Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows the distinguished teachers discussed ESEA reauthorization, the most effective model for STEM classrooms, and the specific types of support that STEM teachers need.

Pam Smith attended a Title I National Conference in Tampa, Florida and a Beyond School Hours Conference in Atlanta, GA this February.

Jeff Camarillo attended a Secondary Schools Principal Conference in San Francisco, CA February 24-27th.

Laurie Calvert worked through December and January with ED's Outreach and Communications Office leaders to create a Teacher Landing Page at ed.gov. Now when teachers visit ED's homepage, they can click on a link entitled Teachers to connect to a page with all things teacher. We are continuing to upgrade the site by posting stories and resources by and for teachers. For example, we just posted helpful materials for teachers to use during Black History Month. Please feel free to share your own thoughts with ED through this interactive medium!

Linda Yaron and Steve Owens traveled to Philadelphia with Jo Anderson, Senior Advisor to Secretary Duncan, and led panel discussions with about 30 Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) representatives at a Teachers Union Reform Network(TURN) event on the 20th.

Tracey Van Dusen accompanied Peter Cunningham, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach, in Detroit on the 21st to observe math classes that integrate technology. They also conducted a teacher round table with about 20 Detroit Public School Teachers. Cunningham then followed Van Dusen to her own Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor where they conducted another round table with 13 teachers and met with her government and social studies students. Van Dusen discusses her experience on our Teachers Blog: Michigan Class Queries Cunningham on ED Policy.

Washington Fellows were invited to speak in Arlington, VA on the 21st as part of a National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) 2011 Study Group on Teacher Preparation, Evaluation, Continuation and Compensation. Participating State Board of Directors members hailed from 16 States.

The Teaching Ambassador Fellows prepared and presented a report entitled: National Teacher Voices on the Profession and Evaluation Systems to Secretary Arne Duncan and Assistant Secretary Peter Cunningham on the 24th. The report was based on conversations with a diverse group of teachers from a range of school communities in CA, DE, DC, MD, NY, NC, OR, PA, VA, and WA. The Teaching Ambassador Fellows were able to identify definite themes across the various contexts they visited, including wanting Department officials and the general public to understand teaching as the rigorous and intellectually challenging work that it is. Because teaching is so complex and multifaceted, teachers want evaluation systems that are based largely on meaningful, frequent feedback from trusted, credible sources such as students, parents, peers, and school leaders.

Laurie Calvert, after having organized and participated in a webinar on effective teaching with the National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Government Relations Subcommittee, was invited to speak during their planning retreat with Congressional members on Capitol Hill, January 26th.  Over lunch Laurie talked to them about the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Program, the administration's plans to reauthorize ESEA and ways to continue the dialogue between NCTE and ED.

Tracey Van Dusen accompanied Julie Ewart, Senior Public Affairs Specialist for Region V on the 31st, to the Michigan Non-Profit Association's 6th Annual Federal Funders Face to Face Workshop, sponsored by Senator Carl Levin to present information on ED's grant opportunities.

Jemal Graham accompanied Jeff Johnson from MSNBC, Congressman John Lewis from Georgia, director Spike Lee and Secretary Duncan at Morehouse College on the 31st to discuss the need for more Black Men in the teaching profession. Check out Jemal's blog about the experience: Secretary Calls Black Men to the Blackboard.

Teacher Leadership Webinar

New England Regional Teacher Leadership Initiative and press release

The 2008 Ambassador Newsletter

Notes from the Alumni Fellows - Fall and Winter Editions
The five 2008 Washington Teaching Ambassador Fellows share stories from time working with the Department of Education. Available on DVD. To request a copy of either edition please email: TeacherFellowship@ed.gov