Teaching Today

In this episode, we continue our discussion focused on multilingual learners, diving deep into why linguistic mobility isn't just academic—it's the key to true community inclusion! Maria Underwood, Senior Professional Development Advisor at CPET, and Vince Mou, CPET Professional Development Coach, and Teachers College Zankel Fellow, join Roberta to discuss: -Why multilingual teaching creates explosive learning opportunities for ALL students -How understanding language history can revolutionize your classroom -Practical, ready-to-use strategies for celebrating language diversity -The hidden social dynamics that make or break multilingual learners' success This isn't just talk—it's a vital addition to your toolkit for creating a classroom where EVERY language is valued and EVERY student can thrive! We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Did you know it takes 2-3 years to see real results from educational innovation? How can teachers and leaders invest in the time needed for long-lasting change? This enlightening episode, featuring Dr. Annalies Corbin, founder of the PAST Foundation, uncovers the essential ingredients that make educational changes stick. From overhead projectors to modern teaching methods, we explore how education must evolve to meet today's challenges. Tune in to discover how you can be part of the educational evolution that truly prepares students for tomorrow's challenges! We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Writing projects can feel like a distraction, unless we look at the ways in which projects increase learning for students, and the ways we can integrate them into our calendars without losing teaching time for skills or content that we need to cover. Today, we revisit our conversation with participants from one of our Student Publication Initiative (SPI) projects last year: participants from all levels — Meg Davis, SPI coach; Vicky Beswick, NYC DOE teacher; and Juan Filan & Deylin Pena-Rodriguez — two 9th grade students who established their voices as student authors throughout the writing process. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Teachers struggle to implement social justice pedagogy due to limited support, restrictive laws, and scarce training—all while trying to build student advocacy skills! In this episode, Maria Luisa Underwood unpacks findings from quantitative research with teachers based on their experience implementing the framework "Equipping Educators to Nurture Student Civic Advocates Through Social Justice Pedagogy.” You'll find Underwood's chapter on the topic in NCTE/Routledge's "Practicing Civic Futures" (Vol. 3). Listen in to discover practical solutions to the pressing challenges facing educators today! We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, we dive into the art of creating captivating, immersive experiences that bring texts to life in any classroom setting—especially for multilingual learners! Join our inspiring panel of educators: Adel Bruni Ashley, Gregory Petershack, Jen Gowers, Shenhao Bai. They reveal the behind-the-scenes magic of their groundbreaking workshop with students and teachers visiting from Shanghai, sharing practical strategies that will revolutionize your teaching approach. ✨ Connect brain to body through energizing prereading activities ✨ Awaken the senses with multisensory engagement techniques ✨ Spark creativity by empowering participants to become creators. Listen to how this transformative methodology works in: -Immersive all-day workshops -Bite-sized sessions that build progressively -Regular classroom routines woven throughout the school week Visit https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/ to learn about the Literacy Unbound summer program and apply for our next session. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, we discuss how the study of the brain can help us better support our students to learn. We are joined by Brooklin Williams, Katherine Elam, and Malik Bolden who share the importance of empathy and understanding in teaching and learning, the need to recognize and support students' emotional responses, rather than just managing their behaviors, and the crucial role teachers play in shaping students' ability to self-regulate. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Ever wonder why speaking your native language feels like putting on comfortable house clothes? This fascinating episode dives into the transformative power of affinity spaces - environments where people connect through shared language, culture, and experiences. Dr. Marcelle Mentor and Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang discuss how these spaces serve as crucial safe havens, particularly for individuals navigating predominantly English-speaking institutions. Through powerful analogies and personal experiences, they illustrate how these spaces enable individuals to truly be themselves. Listen to this episode to understand why affinity spaces aren't just nice to have - they're essential for building stronger, more inclusive communities for all. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

What role do schools and administrators play in supporting teachers to engage students in discussions about civic issues? How can structured curricula and coaching help educators facilitate constructive dialogue across political and social differences? In this episode, Elizabeth Clay Roy, the CEO of Generation Citizen, shares her passion for fostering social justice and community engagement through project-based civics. We discuss the importance of civic education, experiential civics, and relationship building in democracy, and share simple, effective ways of integrating civics education across content areas and grade levels. Explore Generation Citizen's Navigating Social Issues: A Toolkit for Educators https://connect.generationcitizen.org/home We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

This episode features Dr. Katie McMullen and Jonathan Beltran Alvarado sharing their experiences teaching in Singapore, Lebanon, and Colombia. They explore how educators can successfully navigate cultural differences and work with diverse student and teacher populations in international schools. The discussion covers practical considerations for teaching across different settings - from urban to suburban to rural environments. Our guests provide guidance on evaluating potential schools and building meaningful connections within new teaching communities. Throughout the episode, we emphasize the fundamental importance of providing quality education for all students, regardless of location. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, we discuss the importance of recognizing and valuing multilingual learners, with a focus on the connection between language and identity. Maria Underwood, Senior Professional Development Advisor at CPET, and Vince Mou, CPET Professional Development Coach, and Teachers College Zankel Fellow, share origin stories of their personal and professional passion for supporting multilingual learners. Alongside Teaching Today host, Roberta Lenger Kang, they explore the challenges faced by students whose primary language at home is not English, the need for educators to create safe spaces for linguistic mobility, and practical ways educators can use available tools and resources to connect with students who may have language barriers, emphasizing the need for ongoing conversations to better support and affirm multilingual learners in classrooms. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Selecting a curriculum is a big decision for any school or district. In this episode, we define curriculum and discuss the challenges and benefits of adapting and implementing new curriculum in educational settings. We welcome Courtney Brown back to the conversation as we address the importance of understanding the time and effort required for such changes, as well as the potential limitations of professional development programs. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Welcome to our annual wrap-up episode of Teaching Today! We're excited to bring you a special compilation featuring our three most-listened-to conversations from the past year, plus a bonus clip that captured international attention. Thank you again for these conversations: Nona Ullman, Melissa Payette, Lisa Dughi, Collette Smith, Dr. Padhu Seshaiyer, Dr. Laura Rigolosi and Jacqui Stolzer. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

In this episode, we dive into the Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) model and its impact on educational practices. We are joined by CPET colleagues, and co-teaching dynamic duo, Jacqui Stolzer and Dr. Laura Rigolosi as we dig into various co-teaching models, their effectiveness depending on the type of student engagement activity and learning goals, and the challenges of implementing these models in different teaching scenarios. We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

Secondary literacy isn't confined to ELA classes—it spans all content areas, requiring a shared understanding and commitment from teachers across disciplines. Matthew Mazzaroppi, Deputy Superintendent at New Visions High School District joins us to discuss the importance of collaboration, expertise, and community engagement in improving learning systems. With a focus on the role of district-level administrators and the need for patience and persistence in implementing change, we dig into the questions we face along the way of transformative change: How do we move the big barriers? Who are we talking about when we say we need to hear from “experts” in our district? How will we know if the work we're doing is creating the change students need? We're proud to make this content free and accessible to all. If you find value in our episodes, please consider donating to support and sustain our efforts: https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/giving.html

What does it mean to shift the cognitive load from the teacher, empowering students to grapple with content and develop their critical thinking skills? Where can we find authentic moments of writing in every classroom from math to physical education? In this episode, Dr. Alice Lee shares her experiences championing a district-wide focus on writing across the curriculum, emphasizing that writing is essential for learning in any subject area. We also discuss the value of customizing district support to address the unique needs and dynamics of individual school communities, including learning walks as a valuable tool for teachers, administrators, and coaches.

Moving from Q&A to Q&D is both an art and a science. In this episode, CPET coaches Dr. Jen Gowers and Kelsey Hammond, join us to think out loud about what makes vibrant discussions a challenge to facilitate, how we can meet that challenge, and how we might handle surprising moments in our classroom discussions. The team shares what "invisible skills" are, why they are crucial for helping students participate in meaningful discussions, along with practical steps we can take to teach these skills to children of all ages. Your voice matters! After you listen, let us know your thoughts, questions, and reflections on fostering engaging dialogues in the classroom.

Public education should both equip and empower students to be successful in their lives and contribute to their communities, but how is the current system delivering on this promise? In this episode, we welcome Mr. David Adams, CEO of the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit that promotes economic and social mobility by innovating in public education. Our thought-provoking discussion ranges from the purpose and promise of public education to Social Emotional Learning and Career and Technical Education to the need to redefine the goals and measures of success in the public education system. We discuss not only what needs to happen, but also how teachers can take a small step toward a big future for their students.

The complexities of navigating the teaching profession go beyond delivering content or curriculum and require a deep understanding of students' perspectives and diverse needs. In this episode, Hunter Gehlbach, Professor & Director of the PhD program at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, invites us to consider how intellectual humility coupled with curiosity can support us to channel our inner detective in the classroom and outside of it. Through powerful examples and research-backed insights, this episode empowers educators to move beyond surface-level assumptions and toward a more student-centered approach to teaching and learning.

Teachers are socialized to view themselves as "superhuman.” They are celebrated when they work long hours, sacrifice personal time, and go "above and beyond" in their roles. In this episode, Dr. Shamari Reid, Assistant Professor of Justice and Belonging in Education at New York University and Dr. Marcelle Mentor, Director of Educator Preparation and Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at UMass Boston join us to discuss Dr. Reid's book Humans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice, and Liberation in School. Together we explore how celebrating the diverse identities and experiences of teachers and acknowledging their full humanity creates supportive environments that foster the growth and well-being of teachers and their students.

Questions come naturally to young children: Why is the sky blue? Where do butterflies go in winter? As they grow older, students need invitations to cultivate curiosity and teachers who are able to teach the skill of questioning. The Question Formulation Technique builds this lifelong learning skill, teaching students how to ask their own questions. In this episode we're taking a journey into our podcast archives to a conversation with Dan Rothstein, Luz Santana, and Sarah Westbrook from The Right Question Institute to discuss how the QFT works and what we can do to cultivate curiosity through questioning.

The start of the school year can be full of hope and optimism, but our experiences as teachers highlight the need for flexibility and adaptability as we navigate the unpredictable nature of the classroom. Our guests, instructional coaches Maria Underwood and Dr. Laura Rigolosi, discuss the challenges of managing competing priorities, particularly in the beginning of the school year. They share how they struggled to balance getting to know their students, assessing their needs, and completing administrative tasks, all while trying to deliver effective lessons.

Establishing and forging meaningful relationships with students at the start of the school year can be challenging — students often have diverse backgrounds, needs, and personalities, and they need to feel a sense of trust in order to be vulnerable about their learning needs, their personal opinions, and their challenges. In this episode we're taking a journey into our podcast archives to a conversation with Kelsey Hammond, a former ELA teacher and Lead Professional Development Coach, and Victoria Fernandez, a former Math/Special Education teacher and Lead Professional Development Coach about the importance of building relationships that foster a positive learning environment.

Understanding the day-to-day experiences and challenges faced by teachers in their classrooms is crucial for providing relevant and effective professional development. At the end of every episode, we say, “Your voice matters, send us your education questions, concerns, and promising practices and we'll address them!” Today, we discuss the importance of starting with a clear unit plan as the foundation for effective lesson planning, especially in co-teaching environments, the ways a lesson planning toolbox of proven strategies can leverage precious time, and how complex questions engage English language learners in our classrooms.

Understanding the day-to-day experiences and challenges faced by teachers in their classrooms is crucial for providing relevant and effective professional development. At the end of every episode, we say, “Your voice matters, send us your education questions, concerns, and promising practices and we'll address them!” In this episode, we explore the challenges, benefits, and power of project-based learning (PBL) in the classroom by responding to questions from PBL workshop participants like, “How can we shift our mindset from grading to genuine exploration and learning as a collaborative process between teachers and students?”

Graduate students in education often leave the educational domain with less confidence and a fractured sense of self. Our guest in this episode, Dr. Emily Affolter, shares from experience and recent research the importance of respecting individual needs, fostering flexibility, and moving away from rigid, binary thinking in education in order to nurture student confidence and creativity. We discuss practices educators can adopt to maintain their well-being and sustain their passion for teaching, and strategies that can be implemented in graduate education programs to enhance the confidence and self-efficacy of future educators.

The episode explores Literacy Unbound — an initiative at the Center for Professional Education of Teachers (CPET) — which aims to reimagine traditional approaches to teaching reading and writing through play, creativity, and multiple modalities. Our panel discusses how to bring the practices of an arts-infused, project-based curriculum developed around shared texts to increase student engagement and build empathy, to your classroom, particularly for students in challenging circumstances like those at East River Academy (ERA) on Rikers Island. Special thanks to ERA's Principal, Tonya Threadgill, Dr. Jen Gowers, and Dr. Jameon Moss for your voices!

We explore the daunting challenges faced by early-career teachers as they strive to teach young children to read. Despite their formal education, many feel ill-equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students, especially with the added complexity of the science of reading. LaMonica Williams, the Senior Director of Programs and Services at Teaching Matters, joins us to share how her organization is empowering these teachers with the necessary skills and resources to tackle these challenges head-on.

Understanding the day-to-day experiences and challenges faced by teachers in their classrooms is crucial for providing relevant and effective professional development. At the end of every episode, we say, “Your voice matters; send us your education questions, concerns, and promising practices and we'll address them!” Today, we dig into questions posed by teachers from New York's New Visions High Schools about collecting student feedback, using formative assessments to inform next steps for teaching and learning, and bridging meaningful classroom writing and high-stakes assessment.

In this episode, we delve into the transformative power of writing and the importance of fostering authentic learning experiences for students. Diego Medina and Scarleth Tejada — students and published authors at the Global Learning Collaborative in New York City — join the podcast to discuss their experience with the Student Press Initiative and this unique writing experience. Their teacher, Sandra Woods, shares the power of student-led writing projects and why this process was one the highlights of her professional career. ----- Check out this year's publication from the students at Global Learning Collaborative: https://bit.ly/glc2024

Stress and anxiety is on the rise — and schools often can't or don't know how to address stress and promote the health and wellness of teachers and students, for many reasons. In this episode, we welcome our guest, Pamela Gunther, who shares her inspiring journey of starting a company that creates engaging, active learning environments to support the overall wellbeing of teachers and students. We discuss ways districts can foster a sense of community and shared responsibility in making health and wellness a top priority for all, and we explore the ways movement is essential to learning — for teachers, administrators, and students alike.

In today's rapidly evolving world, the skills required for success are constantly shifting. The 21st century demands a new set of durable skills — critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, grit, and curiosity. Today, we welcome Dr. Padhu Seshaiyer, Professor and Director at George Mason University, to discuss the challenges of teaching in the 21st century and the ways he is responding to this challenge in his work with educators.

Most educators, if not all, would answer the question, “Should education be equitable?” with an immediate, “Of course!” Most educators also face barriers to creating a truly equitable space for all students. What steps can educators — from custodians to school secretaries to librarians to teachers to administrators — take to determine their individual and collective values? How can they work together to implement those values with fidelity? Today, we welcome Dr. Delores Lindsey, from the Center for Culturally Proficient Educational Practice, to discuss concrete solutions that foster equity in education.

Teachers possess the remarkable ability to ignite curiosity, nurture potential, and empower students to take steps toward their goals. With unwavering patience and a deep understanding of each student's unique strengths and struggles, they tailor their approach to ensure every student has a way to stretch and grow in their classroom. Teachers' influence goes beyond academics, as they serve as role models, mentors, and guides, helping students navigate the challenges of personal growth and self-discovery. Their tireless efforts, often unacknowledged, leave an indelible mark on the lives of their students, inspiring them to become the best versions of themselves and contribute positively to society. This week, our guests are teachers who share why they were inspired to teach and what they've learned on their own teaching journeys.

Arriving in an entirely new place after fleeing dangerous or unstable circumstances in their home countries, newcomers and asylum-seeking students are navigating a complex set of obstacles. From dealing with past trauma to acculturation struggles, gaps in formal education, taking on family responsibilities, and simply meeting basic needs like food and shelter, the demands can seem overwhelming. Our guest, Gicel Adon, has made it her mission to create an environment where these incredible young people can thrive. As Principal of the International School for Liberal Arts, she is committed to collaborating with her team to equip students with the tools and support system they need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. In this episode, Principal Adon shares practical guidance based on her experience serving this vibrant student population.

Math teachers are pulled in several directions as they plan and implement their lessons — how do they divide their precious, limited teaching time between teaching discrete and necessary skills, empowering students to use math in the real world today and in their future, and preparing students for “the test?" In this episode, we're talking with Bob Janes, Supervisor of Secondary Mathematics at East Hartford Public Schools, about what math literacy looks like and how he coaches teachers to infuse literacy in their classrooms. He also recommends tools and practices for teachers to find their balance in this challenging and exciting world of math literacy.

Questions come naturally to young children: Why is the sky blue? Where do butterflies go in winter? As they grow older, students need invitations to cultivate curiosity and teachers who are able to teach the skill of questioning. The Question Formulation Technique builds this lifelong learning skill, teaching students how to ask their own questions. In this episode, we're joined by Dan Rothstein, Luz Santana, and Sarah Westbrook from The Right Question Institute to discuss how the QFT works and what we can do to cultivate curiosity through questioning.

Educators have an important job: getting students — the next group of leaders — ready for the future. Our guests this week — Lisa Dughi, CEO of NAF, a national education non-profit that works to prepare students for a life of upward mobility and success; and Collette Smith, Founder of Believe N You, which works with schools in underserved communities to encourage students and inspire positive change — bring their personal and professional experience as changemakers to the pod to discuss how we can best support tomorrow's leaders.

Engagement is a lever for achievement — when students are highly engaged, they are more likely to learn and persevere through challenges. How can educators effectively measure and assess student engagement in the classroom? We're joined by Nona Ullman and Melissa Payette of LessonLoop — an organization that guides better instruction and transforms learner engagement — to talk about the innovative practice of using student feedback to measure engagement and increase joyful learning.

Station teaching can transform traditional classrooms into dynamic learning environments — the key is to familiarize yourself with the promising practices and potential pitfalls of this approach. In this episode, we're talking with co-teaching specialists Dr. Laura Rigolosi and Jacqui Stolzer about how educators can make station teaching work in their classrooms.

Adopting and adapting a new curriculum is a complex and multi-faceted process. It can pose a significant challenge as it involves navigating various competing needs, such as state standards, standardized exams, district and school-specific goals, and the diverse needs of students. The question arises: which of these priorities takes precedence? How do you do it all? Today we are Courtney Brown, Senior PD Advisor, NTN@TC Initiative Leader, and Secondary Ed. Specialist and, someone who has worked closely with a variety of schools to support curriculum, and ELA and ENL specialist, Lauren Midgette, who has been involved in various curricular projects with CPET.

Establishing and forging meaningful relationships with students at the start of the school year can be challenging — students often have diverse backgrounds, needs, and personalities, and they need to feel a sense of trust in order to be vulnerable about their learning needs, their personal opinions, and their challenges. In this episode, we're talking with Kelsey Hammond, a former ELA teacher and Lead Professional Development Coach, and Victoria Fernandez, a former Math/Special Education teacher and Lead Professional Development Coach about the importance of building relationships that foster a positive learning environment.

Happy New Year! It's September, and we're celebrating the start of a new school year — a time for reflecting, goal setting, and anticipating our new students. With the return to school, we teachers often return to the advice and wisdom passed down to us about how best to start the school year: "Don't smile until Christmas." "Never let them see you sweat!" "Fake it ‘til you make it." Sometimes these words of advice feel mythic, especially to newer teachers. But, this so-called wisdom, for the most part, comes from a time when the culture valued a teacher-centered and dominant force in the classroom. Today, we're talking with our team about all things back-to-school, including debunking some of these teaching myths about how teachers should begin the year now that we are in the 21st century.

Project-based learning can be an overwhelming approach to teaching and curriculum design, and transforming practice requires time, which is one of the most difficult resources for teachers to come by. In this spotlight episode, we're talking with Dr. Cristina Compton, about one of her signature courses, The Power of Project-Based Learning, and how she offers effective and practical strategies for bringing this work into your classroom.

Since its release, ChatGPT has provoked discussion within the arena of the classroom and beyond. ChatGPT is a revolutionary AI language model in many respects, capable of advanced and human-sounding prose. As a result, many teachers and administrators expressed concern when the AI-bot was first released, with many schools banning access to ChatGPT on their school or district internet. Today we are talking to Dr. Cristina Compton, an elementary education and project-based learning specialist at CPET; Chelsey Barber, a current PhD student at Teachers College whose research interests include the effects of 21st technology on learning & teaching; and Kelsey Hammond, a professional development and literacy coach at CPET, about all things ChatGPT.

Our classrooms are made up of students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In some cases, our students are learning a new language in addition to discipline-specific content. Multi-language learners require intentional support to improve their fluency both reading and writing. What do those strategies look like in teachers' planning and instruction, especially when teachers do not speak their students' home language? We are talking to Marcia Garcia Underwood, founder and CEO of M Ideas Consulting Services, and Lauren Midgette, a professional development coach at CPET. Both of our guests today will be sharing their most effective strategies to support multi-language learners based on their years of classroom and coaching experience.

In a time when students are inundated with media and technology all around them, it can be difficult for teachers to engage students in reading a book that takes place almost 80 years ago. Teachers are often looking for the best approaches to spark students' interest and their understanding of the importance of storytelling about world events and the human experience. In this episode, we're talking with our colleague Courtney Brown and Mike Epperson, an ELA teacher at AECI-2 charter school in the Bronx, about the innovative annotation strategy he's been using to help students connect to texts in his 10th grade classroom.

As school districts respond to the concerns about a literacy crisis in the U.S., many are rolling out big initiatives to increase reading performance. This often comes with big changes to curriculum, expectations for educators, and a lot of pressure to implement concepts they may not understand. In this episode, we're continuing our conversation about the Science of Reading with Dr. Cristina Compton and Kelsey Hammond as we explore the implications of new policies being enacted across New York City public schools. Listen to Part 1 of our conversation here: https://soundcloud.com/user-556918646/the-science-of-reading

Books have the power to introduce us to new places, cultures, and perspectives. But right now students across the country are facing empty bookshelves in their classrooms and school libraries, as books that fairly address issues of race, gender, and culture in age-appropriate ways are at risk of being banned from classroom and library shelves by state or local officials. This week, we're joined by Dr. Heather Harding, Executive Director of Campaign for a Shared Future (https://www.campaignsharedfuture.org/), to discuss what we can do in our local communities to ensure that all children have the opportunity to access inclusive content.

Let's be real: teacher appreciation week should be EVERY week. In this special episode, we want to honor and to celebrate the challenging work that teachers do every day to educate and to inspire their students. We've brought our CPET colleagues together to share stories about the teachers who have had a profound impact on us as individuals.

What is the best way to teach children to read? This question has plagued teachers, administrators, and literacy specialists for decades in the K-12 space. This question is often a highly controversial one, as literacy issues can become caught up in politics — both within the field of education and depending which expert or company or program one is aligned with. This week, we're talking to Dr. Cristina Compton, a former elementary school educator and the Director of Program Development at the Center for Professional Education of Teachers (CPET), and Kelsey Hammond, a former middle school English Language Arts' educator and professional development coach, about the science of reading.