2022 BU Wheelock Forum

Every day, teachers make decisions that shape their jobs, classrooms, and students’ experiences. Although they seem like individual choices, these decisions are inevitably impacted by a broader context of district, state, and national policies that govern the educator workforce. In today’s challenging environment, it is critical that we examine the persistent, systemic inequities that influence of these policies and ask: How are our teacher workforce policies disrupting or perpetuating these inequities?

Attendees joined BU Wheelock and the Wheelock Educational Policy Center for the 2022 BU Wheelock Forum to discuss the ways that policy-relevant, partner-driven research can enhance our understanding of how various policies impact the diversity and quality of the teacher workforce. During the two-day event, we engaged with BU Wheelock students, alumni, and faculty researchers, as well as national and state education leaders to examine the research and policy implications in two key areas:

• Shortages, shifts, and stability in the Massachusetts educator workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic
• Workforce policies and the understudied impact on teachers serving English learners and students with disabilities.

The program balanced research highlights from the BU Wheelock community, in-depth conversations with teachers and policymakers, and commentary from national leaders.

Featured speakers throughout the event include:

• Roberto Rodriguez, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education
• Kate Walsh, President, National Council on Teacher Quality
• Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year and Special Education teacher from Las Vegas, Nevada
• Jeff Riley, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Jessica Tang, President, Boston Teachers Union

More event details and information