Supporting Teachers: Strategies to Bring Joy Back into the Classroom

Presented by Jinan O’Connor, Vice President of Advocacy and Public Partnerships, Donors Choose; Thomas Arnett, Senior Research Fellow, Clayton Christensen Institute; Anthony Salcito, Chief Institution Business Officer, Varsity Tutors; and Timothy Hise, Vice President, Southwest, The New Teacher Project (TNTP)
Moderated by Kevin Mahnken, Senior Writer, The 74

Sponsored by Varsity Tutors for Schools

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Educators remain the single most important influence on a student’s education. The research continues to demonstrate strong connections between teacher well-being and student learning. Over the last two years, teachers have reported record levels of stress as they work to juggle the unprecedented academic and social-emotional needs of their students. But teachers shouldn’t have to do it alone.

As we prepare for a new school year, school leaders report teacher morale as a top concern. How can leaders put the right teaching models, teams, and tools in place to support educators? View this edLeader Panel with researchers, technology experts, and advocates for a discussion about the practical ways to not only support educators but bring joy back into the classroom.

This recorded edLeader Panel is of interest to PreK-12 school and district leaders, non-profit advocacy organizations, and teacher development programs.

About the Presenters

At Donors Choose, Jinan O’Connor builds relationships with school districts, states and education associations around the country to support their educational priorities and make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Jinan previously worked as Vice President, Implementation and Professional Learning and as Executive Director, Northeast at Turnaround for Children; Northeast States Director for AVID; and a school improvement consultant for Southern Regional Education Board. Jinan began her educational career as an elementary special education teacher after graduating from Spelman College. She also holds an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a member of several women’s leadership councils.

At the Christensen Institute, Thomas Arnett’s work focuses on using the theory of disruptive innovation to study innovative instructional models and their potential to scale student-centered learning in K–12 education. He also studies demand for innovative resources and practices across the K–12 education system using the jobs-to-be-done theory. Thomas began his work in education as a middle school math teacher in Kansas City Public Schools through Teach For America and as an Education Pioneers Fellow with the Achievement First Public Charter Schools. He has also served as an elected trustee and board president for the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Morgan Hill, California, and currently serves as a member of the board of Compass Charter Schools in California. Thomas received a BS in economics from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Anthony Salcito works to help empower educators and inspire students to achieve more. He aims to transform the way we learn with the support of the best technology to help build critical skills for the modern, global workplace. In his role as Chief Institution Business Officer at Varsity Tutors, Anthony works to support institutions and educators with solutions for high-dosage tutoring, homework help, test prep, and enrichment all with the goal of driving student outcomes and helping transform education.

Anthony is a recognized leader in driving education transformation and has worked globally with education leaders and organizations to support new approaches to supporting learners. Prior to joining Varsity Tutors, Anthony served as Vice President of Worldwide Education for Microsoft, leading the global execution of the company’s vision for education and pioneering many core programs and education offerings including Live@edu, Partners in Learning, Microsoft Innovative Educator program, and Showcase Schools.

Timothy Hise is Vice President, Southwest at The New Teacher Project (TNTP). Tim oversees TNTP’s consulting work in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, with a focus on helping educators, schools, and school systems expand access to opportunity. Previously, as a Managing Partner, he led the portfolio of Texas work including large statewide grants focused on providing technical assistance to systems around learning acceleration, community engagement, school turnaround, leadership development, and school design. Additionally, Tim oversaw the San Francisco PLUS and Pathway to Teaching contracts with San Francisco Unified School District. Both programs were focused on creating a robust district pipeline of talented future teachers and school leaders in SFUSD. Prior to joining TNTP, Tim spent his career in Dallas ISD, most recently serving as an Executive Director in School Leadership, managing and coaching 13 campus principals. Tim taught middle school math before moving into administration, ultimately serving as principal at the elementary and middle school levels. Tim completed his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Texas at Dallas and holds a Master’s in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas. He holds valid Texas SBEC certifications in 4-8 Math, 8-12 Math, and K-12 Principal.  

About the Moderator

Kevin Mahnken is a senior writer at The 74, a nonprofit education news site. Since joining in 2017, he has led their coverage of education politics and research, with a special focus on tutoring and other K-12 improvement efforts. Previously, he worked at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and The New Republic magazine.

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