First Charter Teacher Named National Teacher of the Year

Sydney Chaffee of Boston, Massachusetts was named National Teacher of the Year – the first charter teacher to garner the prestigious award.

Begun only 25 years ago, charters are public schools that work outside the red tape that often hampers innovation in traditional public schools. They give parents and students greater choice in the kids’ learning environment.

While it’s an honor to be a state Teacher of the Year, the top award is National Teacher of the Year. The national award is another indication that charters are spreading across the country and going from success to success.

“The state of Massachusetts … hold[s] charters accountable for making sure that they’re doing really, really good work,” she said. “That has resulted in really good charters. That has resulted in really good education for kids, so whenever we’re going to talk about charters as a whole, I think we have to talk about accountability as a crucial part of good charters.”

Read More: http://the74million.org/article/74-interview-first-teacher-of-the-year-from-a-charter-school-talks-social-justice-trauma-and-accountability