Have you heard about the Schools That Teach tour? Maybe you saw the #SchoolsThatTeach hashtag being used on twitter, or you caught a clip about it on your local news. You may have also come across information about the tour on our website, or via the interactive google map that highlights where we've been. Whether you're familiar with it or not, read on to find out what the Schools That Teach Tour is really all about.
Established back in 2015 when Governor Wolf first took office, the Schools That Teach Tour creates opportunities for us to step into classrooms across the state and see lessons, programs, and activities in action. We visit each school to meet and talk to students, educators, school staff, parents, school board members, legislators, and other stakeholders.
But that's not the only reason we're visiting.
The Schools That Teach Tour creates opportunities for school communities to meet and interact directly with us.
Why would anybody want to do that?
To learn more about what we do and why we do it.
But that's not all. See, we won't be the only ones talking – we want to hear from you. The Schools That Teach Tour provides school communities with a forum to do that = talk to us. Provide us with feedback. Share issues and concerns. Offer ideas and suggestions. Not only will we listen and take notes, but we'll take what you tell us back to Harrisburg and use it to help inform our work and the creation of policy.
The Schools That Teach Tour is not a photo op. Yes, we'll take pictures while we're there (and Secretary Rivera may take a selfie or two), but we're taking those pictures so we can highlight the students, teachers, and school community. We share photos from our visit on our social media pages and sometimes with the media, too. Why? Because we want to highlight and promote great work – we're proud of you, and your success stories often inspire others.
Important: the Schools That Teach Tour doesn't begin and end with PDE – other state agencies, as well as the governor, visit schools across the state on a regular basis.
How many miles have we traveled since 2015? Thousands. And we're not going to slow down (we do promise to drive the speed limit). We know there's always more to see, hear about, learn, and share.
Do you have a special program or activity that you'd like us to see as part of the Schools That Teach Tour? Let us know: ra-pde@pa.gov.