Major Accomplishments
- Major Policy Document. In partnership with the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF), in early 2000, TNLI published the groundbreaking What Matters Most—Improving Student Achievement. While this book is indeed a national publication, it features the work of many New York City MetLife Fellows—documenting the results of their TNLI action research and highlighting the ways in which policy plays out in schools. This book has been read by more than 5,000 policymakers and educators nationwide. A color brochure outlining the main points of this document has also recently been published by NCTAF—with funding from the Ford Foundation.
- Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE). Following a victory in the CFE lawsuit, the New York City MetLife Fellows have been asked to play a major role in providing the remedy (i.e., determining how best to use newly allocated funds to improve classroom practice and student achievement) for schools throughout New York City.
- Spencer Planning Grant. During 1999-2000, two New York City MetLife Fellows participated in a Spencer Foundation Planning Grant, under the leadership of Joe McDonald at New York University. This project closely examined school reform efforts throughout New York City.
- Education Commission of the States (ECS). At the ECS 2000 Annual Meeting, New York City MetLife Fellow Janet Price represented teacher leaders nationwide at the opening session. Price, who is our member on Governor Geringer’s National Advisory Council on Teacher Quality, also delivered the luncheon address to conference attendees. This year, Price has been joined by two more New York City TNLI Fellows who have become members of other ECS national boards: Fellow Judi Fenton on Governor Shaheen’s National Advisory Council on Early Learning, and Fellow Wade Fuller on the National MetLife Advisory Board on Change in Education Initiatives.
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Pfizer Inc sponsored six fellows and our director to represent TNLI at major sessions of the National Conference for State Legislatures at their July 2000 Annual Meeting. New York City Fellow Jane Murphy served as a panelist for the conference. Pfizer Inc also hosted a reception on behalf of the MetLife Fellows. This reception provided the opportunity for the fellows to meet directly with state legislators from around the country.
- Presentations. The TNLI MetLife Fellows have established presentation guidelines that they are using to speak to a variety of audiences. Several New York City Fellows presented their findings to the Chancellor’s Task Force on Teacher Recruitment, Selection, and Retention at the New York City Board of Education. Other examples of presentations given by fellows include a statewide early childhood conference, a workshop examining educational quality for low-income children, and a full-day seminar for teachers in an upstate New York school district.
- Press. MetLife Fellows continue to attract major local, regional, and national press—including a commentary article in Education Week (May 31, 2000) and Teacher Magazine (March, 1999). In addition, the work of the MetLife Fellows has been featured in dozens of community, district, union, and professional association newsletters throughout the country. On a regular basis, MetLife Fellows also build relationships with prominent journalists and engage them firsthand in our work. In February 2001, for example, New York Times education columnist Richard Rothstein met with the New York City MetLife Fellows.
|