Leaders in the Field

1a. Professional Development schools: An institution formed by the partnership of professional development teachers and P-12 schools. The goal is to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

1b. John Dewey: An American philosopher and educator who wrote many books that influenced education in the US profoundly. His philosophy was that students learn by doing as opposes to rote learning and dogmatic instruction which were the teaching methods in his day.

2. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NBLC): A federal law that mandates several programs and requirements aimed at improving US education in primary and secondary schools.

3a. Carlton L. Highsmith (SPG): Carlton L. Highsmith is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Specialized Packaging Group, Inc. Located in Hamden, Connecticut. The company produces packaging for many facets of the consumer products industry.

3b. Charles “Chuck” Harrison: Industrial designer who is most famous for his work on the team that updated the View-Master toy in 1958. Other examples of his innovations are trash cans made out of heavy plastic with snap-lock lids and hundreds of other consumer products, including hair dryers, toasters, stereos, lawn mowers and sewing machines.

4a. Langston Hughes: An American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist; best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance.

4b. Ralph Ellison: A scholar and writer; best known for his novel Invisible Man which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act, a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory.

4c. Mary McLeod Bethune: An educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for black students in Daytona Beach, Florida eventually becoming Bethune-Cookman College. She was also an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

5a. Frederick Douglas: An American abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer....