These outstanding educators will attend an intensive orientation and training program in Washington, DC, in mid-January, to learn how to best engage and amplify the voices of their peers in solving the toughest issues facing education today. Throughout the year, the Fellows will collaborate with other educators in collecting data, sharing insight, and providing recommendations for improving policies that impact teacher effectiveness.

Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellows are leaders among their peers and are passionate about contributing their ideas and expertise to help improve education in America.

The 2014 National Teacher Fellows are:

Robert Baroz – Ninth Grade English Teacher, Dearborn STEM/Early College Academy, Boston, MA

Sarah Carlson – Science Teacher, Brighton High School, Cottonwood Heights, UT

Michael Dunlea – Second Grade Teacher, Ocean Acres Elementary School, Stafford Township, NJ

Kenneth Mims – Eighth Grade Science Teacher, Snellville Middle School, Gwinnett County, GA

Darlene Morris – Mathematics Teacher, H.D. Woodson High School, Washington, DC

Beth Oswald – Seventh Grade Social Studies Teacher, J. C. McKenna Middle School, Evansville, WI

Ben Owens – Mathematics & Science Teacher, Tri-County Early College High School, Murphy, NC

Christopher Poulos – Spanish Teacher, Joel Barlow High School, Redding, CT

Brandy Price – Instructional Leader, Ingenium Charter School, Canoga Park, CA

Mark Sass – Social Science Teacher, Legacy High School, Broomfield, CO

Christian (Ian) Simoy – Social Studies Teacher, Aiea High School, Aiea, Hawaii

Melissa Tracy – Social Studies Teacher, Conrad Schools of Science, Wilmington, DE

Rebecca Wattleworth – Math & Science Teacher, Warrensburg-Latham High School, Warrensburg, IL

Hope Street Group sponsors the fellowship as part of its larger Education program, which seeks to transform the teaching profession to improve outcomes for students. Dan Cruce, Vice President of Education at Hope Street Group said, “Our National Teacher Fellows Program provides educators the training, support and tools they need to connect policymaker goals with on the ground expertise. With improved educator effectiveness systems, implementation of rigorous college and career ready standards, and the need for better professional learning, such teacher voice input has never been more important. Our National Fellows stand ready to meet this need, partner with policy makers and drive collaborative decisions in the best interest of our students.”

The National Teacher Fellowship program provides fellows, who are either classroom teachers or instructional coaches, with rigorous training, opportunity to network with teachers across the country, and participation in national conversations. Past fellows have written op-eds for major news publications, participated in state and national-level discussions with policymakers on education initiatives and reform, and developed recommendations and solutions for enhancing teacher effectiveness management systems as well as college and career ready standards implementation, as outlined in the Teacher Evaluation Playbook.

“The experience of being a National Teacher Fellow has moved me from participating in local (building/district-level) education conversations to participating in state and national conversations about education,” said Mella Baxter, 2013 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow. “Knowing that leaders want to hear what teachers have to say and use our input to inform decisions that impact education has motivated me to take advantage of every opportunity to speak on behalf of my fellow teachers.”

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Hope Street Group is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity and prosperity for all Americans. Founded by a small group of young entrepreneurs on South Hope Street in Los Angeles, we are committed to helping further innovative and collaborative reform efforts in education, health and jobs and workforce. www.hopestreetgroup.org