Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what’s next.

Here’s what we have on deck for today…

1. Five schools revolutionize non-traditional teacher training

2. Early identity education transforms Black students

3. Teacher morale uptick signals retention opportunity

Five schools revolutionize non-traditional teacher training

As traditional teacher preparation programs decline by 25%, five schools show how to support educators with alternative pathways.

These NIET Founder's Award finalists created systems capable of turning working professionals into teachers.

Their approach?

• Weekly teacher-led training

• Multi-grade teams

• And advanced leadership roles for veteran educators.

There’s an opportunity to copy and customize this approach across school districts to solve the teacher shortage across the nation.

Early identity education transforms Black students

When asked what being Black meant to them, kindergartners initially responded with confusion or denial.

But after participating in a racial identity program that included —

• Books exploring skin color

• A "Black Joy Project" featuring Black staff

• And visits from Black high schoolers

— these same students later declared, "Being Black means I'm perfect the way I am" and "Black is beautiful and powerful."

Parents reported dramatic shifts at home too — one child who previously wanted "white skin" proclaimed their brown skin "already is beautiful!"

For education innovators, this program highlights an opportunity to develop early childhood curriculum that nurtures positive racial identity, helping students build the self-confidence and pride needed to flourish inside and outside of the classroom.

Teacher morale uptick signals retention opportunity

According to a recent EdWeek survey, teacher morale is rising. Yet despite the uptick, there’s still an immense amount of teacher turnover, costing districts loads of money and impacting student outcomes.

As Carey Peterson, a high school teacher, noted, "When teachers feel appreciated, heard, and fairly compensated, it changes everything.”

There’s opportunity for innovators to create tools to measure teacher well-being and help administrators take action to prevent burnout and retain talent.

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We’ll be back with another edition on Friday. See you then!

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