September 24, 2015

On Wednesday, September 16, Inspired Teaching Founder and Executive Director Aleta Margolis addressed the Washington, DC Rotary Club about Inspired Teaching’s philosophy, accomplishments, and plans for the future.

Beginning with a simple question, “what is the purpose of school?” Aleta explained Inspired Teaching’s belief that school should teach students to be changemakers, leaving behind the traditional reliance on rote learning and quiet compliance so that children learn to become inquisitive problem solvers and active, engaged citizens in our rapidly changing world.

Aleta shared with Rotarians a few of Inspired Teaching’s accomplishments in DC, where Inspired Teachers have reached 95% of DC Public Schools through professional development and teacher training. As measured by CLASS, an observation tool validated in more than 6,000 classrooms nationwide, teachers trained by Inspired Teaching outscore their peers in instructional support, classroom organization, and emotional support, three instructional domains directly tied to student achievement. At the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, over 90% of pre-school and preK students met or exceeded all literacy benchmarks, and over 91% of pre-school and preK students met or exceeded all math benchmarks.

Looking to the future, Aleta shared Inspired Teaching’s plans to expand programs to reach even more teachers and students. Recently, Aleta attended the LEGO Idea conference in Denmark to receive an award from the LEGO Foundation and Ashoka as a worldwide Champion of their Re-imagine Learning challenge. Soon, she will be traveling to Istanbul to teach Turkish educators about Inspired Teaching and our instructional model, including the 4 I’s.

In her closing remarks, Aleta encouraged Rotarians to contribute to these significant efforts by challenging public assumptions of what school should look like, to look for evidence of Inspired Teaching and the 4 I’s, and to engage in dialogues that will shift mindsets to explore what’s possible when students learn to be independent thinkers and changemakers in our world.

Thank you to the Washington, DC Rotary Foundation for its longtime support of Center for Inspired Teaching and the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, through grants and volunteer service.