About Us
We partner with educators to design trauma-informed, nonpartisan professional learning that builds inquiry skills and confidence for teaching difficult topics responsibly in PreK–12 classrooms and communities.
What We Do
The Initiatives’ staff and affiliated faculty bring diverse expertise and experience to our work with educators. Our team of pedagogical and content specialists design and facilitate professional learning that helps educators teach difficult topics with confidence and responsibility. Participating educators engage directly with experts and apply this learning in classrooms, schools, and districts.
Our Approach
The Initiatives' unique approach is nonpartisan and combines trauma-informed lenses, asset-based approaches and teachers' context to support the adoption of an inquiry mindset when facing difficult issues.
Our approach is rooted in trauma-informed, asset-based, and contextually responsive practices, supporting educators and students in developing an inquiry skillset in navigating difficult topics and issues. We define difficult topics as ones that exist in curricula and difficult issues as one that pop up in the news, local communities and/or classrooms.
Yearlong and semester programs and workshops engage PreK-12 educators in work focused on:
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Classroom-application training directly impacting students
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Customized work that directly relates to school districts needs
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Real-world relevance to classroom and community contexts
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Collaborative professional communities guided by expert facilitators
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Teacher agency and reflection, positioning educators as creators of knowledge
Lower Moreland Teacher John Haldmen shares insights from his inquiry with a fellow teacher during an Initiative program session.
Credit: Tommy SmithWho We Are
The Initiatives are guided by a collaborative network that includes our initiative team, a Teacher Advisory Council, and trusted partners, all of whom bring deep expertise and on-the-ground experience.
Initiative Team
The Initiatives’ team brings a wealth of diverse expertise and experience to support educators.
Our team's pedagogical and content experts work with school educators to facilitate professional learning in how to approach, teach, and critically discuss difficult topics in PreK-12 spaces. Educators work directly with inquiry experts with backgrounds rooted in classroom experience.
Teacher Advisory Council
The Initiatives’ Teacher Advisory Council is made up of PreK-12 educators from Pennsylvania and other states who teach the Holocaust, human rights, and other difficult topics. Council members provide insights about the challenges that educators and students face in their schools and communities. They help the Initiatives develop relevant and responsive professional learning programs, online modules, and instructional materials.
Partners
The Initiatives have collaborated with educators and districts across more than seven U.S. states, as well as the following organizational partners.
