Big Idea

The INSPIRE Center evolved from the ongoing and collaborative support of the UW’s Teacher Education Programs, Ackerley Partner School Network, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and local schools and organizations.

Individual University of Washington teacher educators have often partnered with local districts to work side-by-side with teachers, principals, and district leaders to create job-embedded opportunities to work together on teaching practice. We have seen the power of these partnerships to create space for teacher learning within the school day, improve instruction, and dramatically increase student achievement. The successes at Lakeridge Elementary are one example of this kind of transformative work in elementary mathematics.

By creating the INSPIRE Center, we aim to leverage these efforts across content areas to collaboratively design powerful approaches to instruction and instructional leadership.