Leveraging Teacher Voice for Literacy Systems Change: The Pennsylvania Playbook

Systems change efforts often exclude teachers—those who are closest to students and often charged with implementing new initiatives and policies. What if, instead of doing systems change to teachers, we put teachers at the center of policy and practice change?

In this session, representatives from Teach Plus PA and their partners will share about how teachers are leading a broad coalition of stakeholders to make progress across three drivers—equitable school funding, a strong and well-prepared educator workforce, and early literacy policy and practice—toward the goal of making Pennsylvania the fastest-improving state in the country in early literacy. Hear about both their successes and challenges in advancing a multi-faceted, teacher-led, bipartisan advocacy agenda, connecting policy to practice, and tracking progress across all 500 school districts in Pennsylvania.