Empower Educators. Expand Their Impact. Do it Together.
The Teach On Project hosted ECET2 Atlanta in December 2018.
TOP proudly hosted last December’s Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) Atlanta conference, providing our previous winners a platform to share their vast knowledge and expertise. The purpose and intention of ECET2 not only aligned with our mission to honor and empower excellent educators, but it also allowed us to continue to address the factors that lead to educators leaving the field of education. Through ECET2, we provided a platform for teachers to actively lead and participate in meaningful conversations about their profession, lend and receive support and resources, and engage in meaningful professional development with long lasting benefits.
ECET2 Atlanta was designed and implemented by Teacher Leader Collective members, and was open to teachers and leaders from the five largest metro districts. Our ECET2 Atlanta survey results showed that our participants were not only highly satisfied with the speakers and the content, but walked away with new knowledge that they will easily implement into their work with students and teachers.
About ECET2
ECET2 was born out of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s desire to improve and enhance teachers’ professional growth and development; reduce their sense of isolation from their peers; and enhance their voices as leaders and advocates in their classrooms, schools, districts, and communities.
ECET2 offers to teachers the opportunity to learn from one another and celebrate their profession through national and regional convenings led by teachers, for teachers. The first ECET2 convening was held in 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona. After that meeting, two energized teachers began organizing regional ECET2 convenings to inform, inspire, and to empower colleagues in their own communities. Teachers took the lead in organizing these regional events, from identifying venues and supportive partners to developing agendas and content.
More than 30,000 teachers have since participated in ECET2 through six national convenings and 206 regional convenings in 40 states. At their core, ECET2 convenings harness the power of teacher-leader networks to deepen learning and empower teachers to better serve students through improved teaching practices. ECET2 is built on the belief that nobody knows teaching like teachers, and that teachers hold the keys to ensuring that policy is well informed, instructional shifts are made with fidelity, and educators are equipped with the right professional development supports to be effective in the classroom. The best way to elevate teachers and the teaching profession is to recognize that teachers are the experts in their field.
