TNTP, previously known as The New Teacher Project, is an organization that works to ensure that children in low-income schools have access to effective teachers. The organization attracts and trains skilled professionals in teaching while simultaneously supporting education reform policies and practices that places higher accountability on teachers. ¹

Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America, formed the group in 1997. She promptly appointed Michelle Rhee to lead the organization. Daniel Weisberg is the current CEO.

Teaching Fellows

TNTP has run a teaching fellow program since its inception in 1997. The fellowship trained recent college graduates and mid-career professionals to serve as teachers in low-performing public-school systems. Fellows partnered with school districts in New Orleans, New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Shortly after the publication of these reports, TNTP was consulting with school districts in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. ²

Research and Consulting

In 2003, using the research compiled from the fellows program, TNTP published their first policy report titled, “Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High-Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms.” In 2005, another report was published titled, “Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts.” In 2009, another report was published titled, “The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in teacher Effectiveness”. This later became the basis of advocacy and consulting efforts to state departments of education and charter school management organizations. ^{3 4 5}

TNTP focuses primarily on four areas: advising, data collection, designing new systems, and execution of new systems. Their advising focuses on providing leaders with support in areas such as negotiations and engaging community members. The data collection focuses on collecting data from observations and surveys and interpreting this data. The design focuses on providing action to problems discovered during the data collection process such as designing new curriculum or teacher pay models. Lastly, execution focuses on implementation of the programs that were designed by TNTP. TNTP clients are in 10 states to include Massachusetts, California, Indiana, and Texas. ⁶

Fishman Prize

TNTP offers the Shira Fishman Prize to teachers that the organization deems of exceptional quality. The prize is named after Shira Fishman, a former engineer who later left to participate in the fellows program and go on to become a public school teacher in the District of Columbia public school system. The prize’s winner earns $25,000 and a five-week summer residency which includes an essay requirement, meetings with education policy leaders, and trips to major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C. In order to qualify, applicants must be full-time teachers in a public school where at least 40% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. ⁷

The Bridge Fellowship

The Bridge Fellowship is a year-long fellowship that encourages education professionals to develop a new idea, such as a curriculum, based on a theme as chosen by TNTP. With a personal advisor, fellows collaborate with those impacted by TNTP’s work and colleagues to implement the idea. Fellows are also paid a $100,000 salary. ⁸

Funding

TNTP has received millions of dollars in grant funding from the Walton Family Foundation, New School Venture Fund, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. ⁹

Leadership

Michelle Rhee served the organization as CEO from its founding in 1997 until her departure in 2007 to serve as chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 2007, Ariela Rozman, then-vice president of TNTP, became the organization’s CEO. In 2015, Daniel Weisberg was named CEO as Karolyn Blecher was named President.  ^{10 11 12}

1. TNTP. “About Us.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 6, 2019. https://tntp.org/about-tntp
2. “Why Teaching Fellows?” Why Teaching Fellows? | TNTP Teaching Fellows | TNTP Teaching Fellows. Accessed October 18, 2019. https://tntpteachingfellows.org/why-teaching-fellows.
3. TNTP. “Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 6, 2019. https://tntp.org/publications/view/school-staffing-employment-policy/missed-opportunities-how-we-keep-quality-teachers-out-of-urban-classrooms
4. TNTP. “Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts”. TNTP.org. Accessed October 6, 2019. https://tntp.org/publications/view/school-staffing-employment-policy/unintended-consequences-the-case-for-reforming-staffing-rules
5. TNTP. “The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 6, 2019. https://tntp.org/publications/view/evaluation-and-development/the-widget-effect-failure-to-act-on-differences-in-teacher-effectiveness
6. TNTP. “How We Work”. TNTP.org. Accessed October 6, 2019. https://tntp.org/what-we-do
7. TNTP. “The Fishman Prize.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 7, 2019. https://tntp.org/fishman-prize
8. TNTP. “The Bridge Fellowship”. TNTP.org. Accessed October 7, 2019. https://tntp.org/about-tntp/bridge-fellowship
9. Source is Foundation Search
10. Labbe, Theola. “Rhee to be Highest-Paid School Head in D.C. Area”. Washington Post. July 4,2007. Accessed October 7, 2019. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070302299.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_1
11. TNTP. “TNTP Appoints New Leadership.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 7, 2019. https://tntp.org/news-and-press/view/tntp-appoints-new-leadership
12. TNTP. “TNTP Announces Leadership Transition and Growth Plans.” TNTP.org. Accessed October 7, 2019. https://tntp.org/news-and-press/view/tntp-announces-leadership-transition-and-growth-plans