PENNY is a collective of educators and leaders from district public, independent, charter school, and teacher education sectors advancing progressive ed.
Why Now? With the increasing visibility of racial injustice, the rise of high-stakes standardized testing, and the ever-increasing gap between wealthy and poor communities, the democratic principles of progressive education have never felt more important and critical to families and students today. Community, voice, play, choice, observation, learning by doing – these beliefs within the context of
our world and society are some of the principles the original progressive thinkers espoused. With this network, we hope to build a shared understanding of these principles and what they look like in practice in our classrooms today. How Did We Get Here? In October 2015, the Progressive Education Network (PEN) hosted a conference on “Access, Equity, and Activism: Teaching the Possible.” Spurred by this conference, Manhattan Country School, Castle Bridge School, and Bank Street College began a partnership to create a progressive education collaborative, named PENNY, consisting of public, charter and independent progressive schools in and around New York City. Who Are We? PENNY is a group of public, independent, and charter schools and educators who are interested in progressive education. The organization will focus on two major areas: (1) professional development, with possible opportunities for school visits, workshops, speakers, mentoring, research, and curriculum development; and (2) policy and advocacy, with a voice of support for progressive education in local education policy discussions, advocating for access, equity, and activism. Role of the Founding Board Member
The founding board is made up of eleven members: five from district public schools, four from independent schools, one from a charter school, and one from a teacher education program. The founding board of PENNY will be charged with helping lead the organization and development of PENNY. Founding board members will serve on a voluntary basis. Specifically:
Some initial questions the founding board will focus on include:
How will schools and individuals become members of PENNY? What are the benefits of PENNY membership? What are the first projects we might work on together (i.e. Intervisitations, workshops, gathering, speakers)? What policy or advocacy work might we explore together? What are the next steps to grow the group?
05/04/2018
"Again, the folks at Rethinking Schools have stepped out to produce a timely volume that should become a central staple in how we understand race and the radical imaginary in K-12 classrooms. The heft and depth of Teaching for Black Lives stands as a revolutionary tool in the resistance against racist, fascist, white nationalist ideology in education."—David Stovall, Professor of African American Studies and Educational Policy Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
“Central to the consortium’s success are its “proven practitioner-developed, student-focused performance assessments.” These are created by teachers and rooted in inquiry-based curricula and teaching. Students learn to investigate topics in depth and to explore their own interests within each subject.”
"Protests spanned all five boroughs and all kinds of schools. Elementary and middle schools participated, as did students at high schools. Super-selective schools had organized protests, but so did some of the city’s most struggling schools. And charter schools and district-run schools alike contributed to the mass demonstration."
“We know—based on feedback from educators in the TT community—that empowering students can begin by offering them a glimpse at the difference young people can make.”
"Students from more than 25 area schools have gathered quietly in front of the White House in a stretch of silence that lasted 17 minutes in memory of the 17 students and educators who were killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., exactly a month ago."
Check out photos from PENNY's Annual Conference: Progressive Education in Practice!
03/05/2018
"Carranza, a lifelong educator, has been the superintendent of Houston Independent School District since late 2016 and was previously the superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District."
“I just don’t know how to break a promise to a child, how to break a promise to a community. And that has weighed on me in the past 24 hours,” Carvalho said.
Don't miss out! RSVP now for Progressive Education in Practice
—March 10, 2018
Progressive Education in Practice
Progressive Education in PracticePENNY Annual ConferenceMarch 10, 2018 OverviewOur day-long conference will explore the theme of progressive education in practice. We will look at the way progressive practices live in public and private schools across New York City and learn from each other through....
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