Should Professional Learning be Required?

I recently observed a conference room full of superintendents sitting in complete silence as they pondered a challenging question, “Should teachers be required to participate in professional learning?” Richard Elmore posed this question, and after what seemed like an uncomfortable amount of wait-time, a superintendent responded in an uncertain voice,…

As a company passionate about imagining and enacting a public school system that overcomes historic and persistent inequities, you might think that celebrating national cultural heritage months is a standard staff activity for us.  It is not. Don’t get me wrong.  The West Wind staff agrees that these observances are…

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

“Whatever we do to strengthen and elevate the teaching profession, we should bear in mind that reforms that fail to heed the voice of teachers are doomed.” Secretary Duncan West Wind took to Twitter (using the below hashtag) to thank some of the influential teachers in our lives. It was…

On Tuesday, April 3, West Wind Education Policy, Inc. and the Bijou Theatre at the University of Iowa co-hosted a screening of the American Teacher, a documentary produced by the Teacher Salary Project.  The Project aims to raise awareness of teacher working conditions in America, including salary, hours, and respect…