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The U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Teacher Leaders - Partners in Policy

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Agenda Teacher Leaders – Partners in Policy What is the Fellowship? What do Fellows do? What is the application process like? Why apply for the Fellowship?

Mission Improve education for students by involving teachers in national education policy Teacher Leaders – Partners in Policy

Goals Teacher Leaders – Partners in Policy Create a community of teacher leaders who share expertise, learn from, and collaborate with policymakers on national education issues. Involve teachers in developing policies that affect the classroom. Expand teacher leadership at the national, state, and local levels.

Fellowship Opportunities Washington Fellow Up to 5 Move to Washington, DC Full-Time Travel required Year-Long Paid Classroom Fellow Up to 10 Stay in home district/school Part-Time Travel required Year-Long Paid Regional Fellow Up to 3 Work in one of ED’s Regional Offices Full-Time Seattle Atlanta Boston, Philadelphia, New York Travel required Year-long Paid

Who are the Fellows? In , ED selected 16 Teaching Ambassador Fellows  5 teachers serve as Washington Fellows, based full-time at ED headquarters.  11 serve as Classroom Fellows working with ED on a part time basis.  69 teachers between , representing the diverse settings, grades, subjects in which student learn.

What do Fellows Do ? Facilitate improved communication between teachers and ED Unique position of being a practicing teacher who serve as federal employee for a year – learning about federal policy and bringing us their unique and current classroom teacher perspective. Learn as much as they can, share it with other educators, bring back to us what they think as well as the Fellows’ unique perspective. 10

Learn about the work of the Department of Education Provide the Department of Education with teachers’ voice and perspective on policy Serve in a listening capacity to teachers in the field Bring the concerns, triumphs and every day challenges of teachers back to ED What do Fellows do?

Maryann Woods-Murphy Labor-Management Collaboration Office of Communications and Outreach –Blogging –Youth Roundtables –Connecting with Teacher Organizations –Latino initiatives Teacher Outreach Shakera Walker Race To The Top – Early Learning Challenge Increasing Awareness of High-Quality Early Childhood Programs Participating in Discussions on policy Between ED and HHS Teacher Outreach What do Washington Fellows do?

Greg MullenholzGenevieve DeBose Middle Grades Reform, looking at best practice and promising models. Race to the Top technical Assistances on implementation of college and career-ready standards and assessments Teacher Outreach Assisting with providing Technical Assistance to States on key issues like Race to the Top in the areas of Teacher and Leader Effectiveness & Standards and Assessments Serving as point on issue related to Teacher Quality, Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Preparation, Teacher Development Supporting Special Education and STEM work. Teacher Outreach What do Washington Fellows do?

What do Washington Fellows do? What do Washington Fellows do? Claire Jellinek Bring teacher perspective to education technology initiatives that power student learning. Highlight technology’s capacity to boost teacher effectiveness and preparation. Generate new pathways for teacher outreach and communication (e.g. Ed.gov blogs, facilitation of teacher roundtables) Develop a teacher outreach and communications strategy for the Office of International Affairs around 21 st century skills.

What do Classroom Fellows do? Classroom Fellows work primarily on Teacher Outreach at the local, state and regional level with Regional Communications staff. Some examples are:  Hosting round-tables with education stakeholders  Meeting with federal, state, and local policy makers  Sharing specific ED publications with teachers face to face or electronically;  Organizing conferences or school visits with Senior Staff.

What do Classroom Fellows do? Sharla Steever, Hill City SD Partnered within SD to create a documentary on American Indian Education Issues. Traveled the Reservations in SD to hold Teacher Round Tables and Interviews to understand the issues of American Indian Education better. Assisted Arne Duncan, Bill Mendoza and Keith Moore while they were in SD holding round tables and also attended the National Indian Education Association gathering in Albuquerque while assisting Michael Yudin. Bruce Wellman, Olathe, KS Working with Regional Teacher Networks for round tables and increasing awareness of work of ED Provided specific support to events connected to our own areas of expertise (i.e. National Board certified Teachers event) Participated in work with WTAF on specific areas of interest/expertise (ED Tech)

What is the application like? 6 Narrative pieces, 2 letters and a resume that demonstrate: Contributions to Student Learning History of Leadership Communication Skills Insights to bring to Policy and Programs Professional Training and Development Community Support

What is the application process? Timeline is from January to May Approximately 1000 people submit written applications on USAJobs answering six narrative questions. (Feb 22) Applications reviewed and scored by Fellows and ED staff. (Feb-Mar) The top 75 candidates are interviewed by phone.(late Mar-early April) The top 40 candidates do in person interviews. (April - May) Identify strongest, most diverse team of teachers.

Your Questions What characteristics should a strong candidate possess in order to do this job? Any application tips? How is housing handled for Washington Fellowship recipients? Is there a loss of service time for Washington/Regional Fellows? What is the work like and how do you get assignments? Is there a specific culminating project for the fellowship? Is there an opportunity to work directly with lawmakers? Nonprofits? Is there an opportunity to bring my work back to my school district and share and colleagues? What does that look it? How do we balance a full time job and family with this program? What experiences in the past help you in your role? What has been the biggest benefit of being a Teaching Ambassador Fellow? What impact do you have and how long does it take to see an impact? What is the impact on the Fellow? What do people do after the Fellowship?

For more information Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Home Page on ED Meet our Fellows: Questions about the life of a Fellow? Ask a Fellow! Additional Questions about the Program: Teacher Leaders – Partners in Policy