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Brochure |
Teachers Network Policy Institute (TNPI)--an
initiative of over 150 teachers from ten nationwide affiliates--is designed
to connect education policy with classroom practice to improve student
achievement. TNPI MetLife Fellows--teachers with full-time classroom
teaching responsibilities--research policy issues and develop
recommendations, document their work in papers and publications, and
disseminate their work locally and nationally. Fellows also conduct action
research studies--addressing the direct link between policymaking and its
effects on student achievement in their classrooms. More information on TNPI
is available at Teachers Network’s premier web site: www.teachersnetwork.org
This summer--from July 26 through August
2nd--all TNPI affiliates will send fellow delegations to participate in a
weeklong institute at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island, a 35-minute ferry
ride from Seattle. By bringing fellows together nationally, they will be
able to exchange ideas, share their work with each other, and build upon
what they have done locally. Fellows from new affiliates will also be
included in order to build a cadre of founding fellows who are intimately
familiar with this work. In addition, during the first couple of days of the
institute, affiliate directors and advisors will gather for training and
support from TNPI staff and Dr. Frances Rust (head of elementary education,
New York University) and Dr. Chris Clark (director of teacher education,
University of Delaware), our action research experts. IslandWood is a
brand-new 255-acre non-profit environmental learning center; among its most
salient features are an entirely self-sustainable eco-system and organic
food that is prepared by a four-star chef.
Specifically, the goals of the TNPI 2003 Summer Institute are for current
fellows to present their research and for all fellows to learn more about
how to do action research; fellows will also work together to hone policy
recommendations that result from these findings. Further, the fellows will
have the opportunity to become spokespersons for the profession, and meet
and hold conversations with high-level policymakers—realizing direct
opportunities to have their voices heard. For a major portion of the
institute, the group will also focus on generating policy briefs in each of
the major themes that emerge from TNPI collective research. These briefs
will serve as the jumping-off point to publish/disseminate TNPI work
throughout the coming year. |
