Teacher Advocacy: Your Voice, Your Cause, Your Time

On a daily basis, AP® and Pre-AP® teachers serve as advocates for their students, disciplines, schools, and profession. Their voices and work on policy and practice have never been more important. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, school budget reductions, teacher evaluations, national standards, and hundreds of other policy decisions are currently being discussed. With all this looming change, there is one constant: if education reform is to succeed, teachers must have a powerful voice in the future of our schools.

Join an interactive discussion with teachers as they describe the traditional and social media tools they use to engage in advocacy efforts. Panelists will talk about the advocacy work they are doing at the classroom, school, local, state and national levels to influence reform and give teachers effective voices in  education policy debates.

This session will emphasize and rely upon audience participation.

Before the session:

Join the AP Teacher Advocacy Ning today to help shape the panel discussion through polling, comments and suggestions.

The AP Teacher Advocacy Ning, a social networking community, will also allow you to meet like-minded peers, share ideas and start your own discussions. 

During the session:

Interact with the panel directly using your cell phone or laptop to send real-time questions and comments.  We want to hear from you!

The panel will be moderated by Mario Armstrong, digital expert, Emmy award winning TV show host, contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, CNN, and Sirius XM, and founder of the educational youth initiative TechTechBoom.com.

Panelists include:

• Nicholas Provenzano, English Teacher, Grosse Pointe South High School, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, Writer of the Award Winning Blog The Nerdy Teacher
• Jessica Tang, Humanities Teacher, Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School, Mattapan, MA, Education Advocate and Organizer
• Sharon Wheaden-West, Pre-K Teacher, Westside Elementary School, Baltimore, MD, Teacher and Parent Advocate and Organizer
• Tom White, Third Grade Teacher, Lynnwood Elementary School, Lynnwood, WA, Blogger at Award Winning Blog Stories from School: Policy Meets Practice

Learn more about the AP Annual Conference 2011.