Katherine Scheidler

Dr. Kay Scheidler taught in an urban school for almost thirty years, then moved to district Assistant Superintendent for teaching and learning at the epicenter of the major shift to Standards and the state test. The job was to help educators make this move from curriculum chaos and many students not learning to learning in common areas, not a popular change. I show how schools became better in this new and different mode, and I show how schools can help educators more by providing school day time to meet, confer, and plan, and allow for teamwork and collaboration. I'd left teaching, with its isolation and lack of interest in the quality of learning, then returned when a new program opened in my school named Hope. Now I was able to team-teach, confer with colleagues, and only taught two long-block classes a day. This dramatic shift from isolation meant we could now reach all students. I learned to love teaching and loved my students and colleagues.

I then moved to head up curriculum change in varied districts, seeing that each district has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. The grass isn't greener. I show from real life reporting how high performing districts have their parent issues, urban schools their student challenges, and these can all be overcome with the right school culture, cutting back those heavy overburdened schedules. collegial mutual support, teaming up, common expectations. In my school's experimental program we turned students around and set them up for life.

My own education background is a new fourth grade teacher who scoffed at my high grades from another school: I showed her I could learn. I had two exceptional high school English teachers who pushed and expired. My BA is from the School of International Service, The American University, Washington, DC; Masters in Teaching (MAT), Brown University; CAGS, Harvard Graduate School of Education; doctorate, Boston University.

I taught Methods of Teaching with the Brown Education Department, while also concurrently teaching public school.

Currently I love having practicing educators in my online courses, and enjoy doing in-person professional development for teachers in such areas as mentoring new teachers, a crucial role where veterans re-gain that love of the work, and assist new teachers over the familiar hurdles. It's fun inspiring and re-invigorating a faculty for positive school culture.

My book Standards Matter, Montgomery, Ala; NewSouth Books helps explain how it is that Standards can guide learning well. My new book Renegade Teacher shows how school must change to meet today's challenges.