Deans for Impact (DFI)

🎉 We’re hiring!

Applications are open for the Impact Academy Program Director—leading our flagship program for teacher-prep leaders. If you have experience designing professional learning & coaching leaders through change, we’d love to hear from you.
www.deansforimpact.org/about/careers

Strong, evidence-based reading instruction starts with strong teacher preparation. This #NationalReadingMonth, we’re highlighting reflections from teacher-candidates on the value of knowing how to teach reading effectively. 📚️ www.deansforimpact.org/about/our-vi...

Policy Actions for Tennessee Education Leaders | Deans for Impact (DFI) Policy action guide for Tennessee leaders to strengthen pathways into teaching.

How can states move from policy ideas to concrete steps that strengthen #teacherprep? Our Pathways that Deliver: #Tennessee Action Guide—the first in a series of state-specific action guides—offers context-specific actions TN policymakers can take now.
www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

Science of Learning: Coaching Tools | Deans For Impact | Deans for Impact (DFI) Discover tools, reports, videos, and guides to promote evidence-based practices in teacher education. Enhance teaching with resources on instructional materials and more.

Looking for better ways to observe and coach novice and aspiring teachers?
Find practical tools and tips from our Learning by Scientific Design Network—rooted in #ScienceOfLearning principles: www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

“Collaboration between teacher-prep programs and their districts is really important… Thinking about quality, is there a common vision of what that means?” -Leah Brown @uafairbanks.bsky.social & leaders from UVA & SCORE TN discuss instruction on our latest #podcast www.deansforimpact.org/podcast

Educators need time and structure to prepare lessons and internalize content to help students meet ambitious standards. Our Lesson Internalization Protocols for elementary reading & math offer clear, practical steps:
📐 www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...
📚️ www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

There’s still time to apply for the 2026-27 Impact Academy cohort! A year-long fellowship for deans & #edprep leaders to reflect, grow, and lead with purpose—alongside a supportive national community committed to strengthening #teacherprep. Apply by Feb 27: www.deansforimpact.org/impact-academy

The Impact Academy is a year-long fellowship that convenes outstanding leaders of educator-preparation programs and provides them with the support and resources to foster real and lasting change… Join the Impact Academy for Educator-Preparation Leaders

The Impact Academy is a year-long fellowship that convenes outstanding leaders of #edprep programs and provides them with the support and resources to foster real and lasting change within their programs. Applications are open through February 27. youtu.be/ADXxbifStZw?...

New federal guidance on ESEA Title II-A clarifies important flexibility for states & districts to invest more strategically in the educator workforce—including residencies, apprenticeships, grow-your-own pathways, and mentorship/induction for new teachers. www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

Join us at #AACTE26 & #NACCTEP26! Our VP of External Affairs @psteck.bsky.social will lead 3 sessions with partners on policy, advocacy, and expanding high-quality, affordable pathways into teaching. Preview each session below and register here: aacte.org/events/annua...

In our latest Hand in Hand, Place to Place #podcast episode, our ED, Valerie Sakimura, joins leaders from @uafairbanks.bsky.social, UVA & SCORE Tennessee to share key takeaways about the type of practice that helps educators build toward skilled instruction over time. 🔗deansforimpact.org/podcast

Elementary school principal Christina Kellogg shares how aspiring educators are supporting student learning and gaining valuable classroom experience through #tutoring. Learn how policy leaders can mobilize aspiring teachers as tutors in the coming years. www.deansforimpact.org/pathways-tha...

There are many ways to teach content—but not all build deep understanding. Learn how teacher-educators can model rigorous tasks that help students explain why something works, not just get the right answer: www.deansforimpact.org/the-content-...

Join us at the AACTE Annual Conference! We're leading 3 sessions to help #EPPs bolster policy and advocacy efforts that expand high-quality, affordable pathways into teaching. These convos will highlight promising work from leaders across our network aacte.org/events/annua...
#NACCTEP26 #AACTE26

High-quality instructional materials (#HQIM) often include exemplar answers, but rarely guidance on how teachers should respond to student thinking in the moment. This guide offers steps for planning responses that help support student learning. www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

🎙️ What does it mean for new teachers to be truly “classroom-ready”?
On our latest podcast episode, our ED Valerie Sakimura joins leaders from @uafairbanks.bsky.social, UVA, and Tennessee SCORE to discuss why instructional quality must be at the center of #edprep.
www.deansforimpact.org/podcast

Teachers shape the future—preparing students for learning, civic life, and meaningful careers. Yet too many classrooms are led by underprepared teachers. Our policy guide offers concrete steps federal leaders can take to strengthen #teacherprep.
www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

How does a teacher create an environment where all students receive equal access to learning?

Learn how a network of #EPPs used principles of #LearningScience to redesign how teachers are prepared so that all students can succeed.
www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

As a new #EPP leader, @victoriatheisen.bsky.social joined our Impact Academy fellowship in 2023 to strengthen her leadership and grow @aztresidency.bsky.social. Read her story and join nearly 200 fellows and alumni shaping the future of teacher preparation www.deansforimpact.org/about/news-a...

Registered Apprenticeships | Deans for Impact (DFI) Empowering aspiring educators through high-quality teacher apprenticeship pathways.

Registered Teaching Apprenticeships (#RTAPs) can be an affordable, high-quality pathway into teaching—when they meet rigorous standards. See how we’re partnering with mission-aligned orgs to set the bar for strong, sustainable apprenticeships for teachers: www.deansforimpact.org/registered-a...

What does strong leadership in educator prep look like today? Episode 2 of Hand in Hand, Place to Place explores how #edprep leadership has evolved—and what today's aspiring teachers need to be successful.
🎧 Listen & subscribe: www.deansforimpact.org/podcast
🎙️ Ep. 4 coming in Feb!

On our recent staff retreat in NC, we explored how shifts in teaching, technology, and the world are shaping classrooms. We learned from Maureen Joy Charter School, Alpha School, and @opportunityculture.bsky.social and reflected on what it takes to learn, innovate, and lead during times of change.

New resource! To truly meet standards-aligned goals, educators must internalize lessons before teaching. This resource breaks down the steps a teacher must take to prepare prior to teaching a lesson, with an elementary ELA example. #HQIM #LessonInternalization
www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

Join us @ the NextEd Workforce Strategic School Staffing Virtual Summit on 2/5! DFI’s @Geoff_Carlisle & #edprep partners from American U & @notredame.bsky.social explore how mobilizing aspiring teachers as tutors can boost learning & strengthen #teacherprep. summit.education.asu.edu/event/07c311...

These #cogsci resources offer practical tips for coaching aspiring teachers, such as prompting prior knowledge, effortful thinking, and using examples & non-examples.
www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

How is teacher preparation evolving—and what will it take to ensure every pathway into teaching is affordable and high-quality?
Our podcast explores what’s changing, what’s next, and how we strengthen the profession.
🎙️Episode 4 drops in February! www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

Our report, Practice with Purpose, shows how the science of expertise—and the principles of deliberate practice—can strengthen how we prepare and develop teachers. What works in fields like medicine and music can also inform high-quality #edprep. www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

Excited to present at the National Convening on Registered Apprenticeships in Teaching hosted by National Ctr for GYO & NASDTEC! Join our session on how Gulf State institutions of higher ed are shaping #RTAPs—expanding affordable, high-quality pathways into teaching. www.nasdtec.net/page/2026_Re...

New teachers thrive with strong support systems, which include mentoring. Learn more about the value of mentorship and other key recommendations in our new state & federal action guides, which offer concrete steps for strengthening pathways into teaching: www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-re...

Subscribe to our Newsletter | Deans for Impact (DFI) Receive news and updates from DFIThank you for your interest in staying connected! We’re committed to bringing you valuable news and updates about our work to transform educator preparation. By…

Strong PK-12 classrooms start with how we prepare teachers.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest #edprep research, practical resources, and stories of innovation from the teacher prep field: www.deansforimpact.org/subscribe