Feb 27, 2019
In today’s episode, the Getting Smart team takes a look at Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning to learn more about the up-and-coming competency-based academy. The mission of the academy is to reinvent American teacher preparation. Formed in 2015 at MIT, the Academy offers a competency-based Master’s in education in secondary-school STEM. Other programs will be added later, as well.
In today’s episode, Tom will be interviewing James Tracy, the President of the new teacher preparation program (since 2018). This Stanford Ph.D. is a leading voice on innovation, a board member at Boston’s LearnLauch, and former Head of a respected Rhode Island prep school. They discuss the distinctive design features of the teacher preparation program at Woodrow Wilson Academy, what Jim hopes to accomplish in his role as the President of the new teacher prep program, and the importance of making changes in education scalable and adaptable at zero cost to even the least-resourced school.
Listen in to hear Jim’s unlikely path to education leadership and why he is as passionate about empowerment as innovation!
Key Takeaways:
[:16] About today’s episode.
[1:02] Tom welcomes Jim to the podcast.
[2:05] About Jim’s early education growing up and how he went from high school drop-out to Stanford History Ph.D.
[7:07] Jim’s experience as a white male studying African American struggles for progress.
[10:53] How did someone, such as Jim, with a passion for individual and collective empowerment and appreciation for social justice, end up as a leader in private schools?
[12:42] Jim talks about some of the innovative programs he launched at Rocky Hill.
[20:17] Does Jim remember when Arthur Levine published “Educating School Teachers” in 2006? Jim also speaks about the key driver Arthur’s work has been for him.
[23:33] Jim talks about the importance of making these changes scalable and adaptable at zero cost to even the least resourced school on the planet and why he feels so driven to work in education and help make these changes possible.
[26:23] Jim talks about what he hopes to accomplish in his role as the President of the new teacher preparation program at the Woodrow Wilson Academy.
[28:34] What Jim thinks are the distinctive design features of the teacher preparation program at Woodrow Wilson Academy.
[33:30] Jim talks about his stance on teacher prep and his challenge right now as the President of the new teacher prep program at Woodrow Wilson Academy.
[37:35] Where to learn more about Jim and Woodrow Wilson Academy online.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
“Educating School Teachers,” by Arthur Levine
Want to Learn More About Competency-Based Education?
Listen in to Episode 177 — “Scaling Competency-Based Education: Equity-Focused Strategies for Policy and Practice” where Tom and Mary Ryerse dive into the show-what-you-know landscape!
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