Teach Plus Names 20 Educators as Fellows of Inaugural Statewide Policy Fellowship in Nevada

 

Las Vegas, NV -Teach Plus, a national non-profit that puts teacher leaders at the center of improvement at all levels of the education system, kicked off its first cohort of Nevada Policy Fellows with 20 outstanding public school teachers from around the state.  The Fellows will pursue a rigorous course in policy and advocacy and develop the skills necessary to advocate for education policies that better serve Nevada students and teachers.  They will further their impact through collaborative work on key issues and interactions with district and state decision makers.  During the eighteen-month program, Fellows will focus on policies pertaining to the retention of high quality educators and education funding, among other education priorities.  

 

“Teach Plus’ core expertise is in training and engaging teachers in education policy. We’re looking forward to bringing our new Nevada Fellows into discussions with state policy makers and other organizations as we consider how to improve educational outcomes for all of Nevada’s learners,” said Chris Eide, Teach Plus National Director of State Policy, Advocacy, and Partnerships.

 

“As a professional educator and teacher leader, I can speak authoritatively to issues of classroom practice. But conversations surrounding educational policy require an entirely different skill set,” said Jeff Hinton, 11th grade US history teacher at Advanced Technologies Academy in Las Vegas and a Teach Plus Nevada Teaching Policy Fellow.  “The Teach Plus Policy Fellowship is giving me the tools I need to think critically about education policy and to effectively communicate those ideas with policy makers and stakeholders in the hopes of moving education forward in the Silver State.” 

 

Teach Plus is launching its work in Nevada in partnership with Opportunity 180, a local nonprofit whose vision is to have 25,000 additional Clark County students in a high-quality public school seat by 2025. 

 

 

“Opportunity 180 is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the solution to improve outcomes for students. We are excited and honored to join Teach Plus in supporting teachers’ important role in strengthening education policy and have no doubt that the highly-talented inaugural class of Fellows will constitute positive lasting change,” said Miles Dickson, Opportunity 180 Board Chair.

The new Fellows, who represent schools across Nevada from Las Vegas to Reno to Elko, teach a wide range of subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. The incoming fellows include state teachers of the year, leaders in their schools and districts, union representatives and teachers in years two through 31. Above all, they have been selected because of their unwavering commitment to young people and the teaching profession. 

 

 

 

Teach Plus empowers excellent, experienced teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Teach Plus programs are designed to place highly effective teachers at the center of improvements in schools as leaders of their peers and outside schools influencing policy decisions that affect their classrooms. The programs develop excellent teachers into leaders who achieve change and mobilize others in their school, district, state, and across the nation to bring change to scale. Since its inception in 2009, Teach Plus has grown to a network of more than 29,000 solutions-oriented teachers across the country.  teachplus.org