Yale University president Peter Salovey hosted a national conference on supporting and sustaining teachers in high-needs schools on October 30, which coincided with the Yale National Initiative’s annual fall conference. The national conference grew out of the December 2014 White House Summit on College Opportunity, when Yale recommitted to supporting teachers in high-needs public schools and pledged to facilitate a convening on the role of Teachers Institutes in this effort. Attendees included university and college presidents and other officials from 24 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; school superintendents and leaders; Yale National Initiative Fellows; and Teachers Institute directors. Ted Mitchell, under secretary of education, was the keynote speaker.

The Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) and the Delaware Teachers Institute (DTI) were featured as case studies of the Institute model. TIP’s presentation consisted of a distinguished panel of Fellows: Bonnee Breese Bentum (Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber), Cristobal Carambo (Philadelphia High School for Girls), and Sydney Coffin (Edison/Fareira High School); University of Pennsylvania Associate Deans Rogers Smith and Larry Gladney and professor emeritus and former interim provost Peter Conn; and William Hite, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. Alan Lee, director of TIP, moderated the panel, which presented diverse perspectives on TIP’s impact in high-needs urban schools. During the remainder of the conference, TIP was frequently referred to as an example of the Institute model’s positive impact on teachers and teaching.

The Philadelphia panel and the additional 2015 National Fellows — Joyce Arnosky (Penn Alexander School), Tara Ann Carter (Hill-Freedman World Academy), Klint Kanopka (the Academy at Palumbo), and Kathleen Radebaugh (Lea School) — made an impression and set high standards for which other communities can aim. More information on the conference can be found here.