A Letter from Frontline Education’s new CEO

Dear Readers,

Soon after joining Frontline Education a few months ago, it became clear that our company’s commitment to serving K-12 education leaders was deeply engrained in our culture. Among the standout efforts to demonstrate to our clients that we are involved in thinking about the challenges and opportunities school districts are facing across the country is The Line. As it turns out, the first issue I get to have a hand in is dedicated to the profession of teaching — a broad topic with a direct relationship to nearly everything we do at Frontline.

At the most fundamental level, it is teachers who collectively shape us. From primary school days through high school, the foundations of our lives begin taking form. Teachers are the architects of generations.

In this issue of The Line, our contributors offer a range of perspectives on increasingly complex issues that school leaders face. Included in their essays are distinct and sometimes opposing insights and ideas that address the question, “What elevates the teaching profession?” as a cornerstone dimension of ensuring America’s schools have the talent and experience they need in every classroom.

Finding new and exciting ways to make certain that teaching is afforded intentional and valuable supports that keep great educators committed to their profession and draws bright new teachers to classrooms across the country calls for K-12 educators, policymakers and communities to collaborate in seeking real and viable solutions.

Additionally, subject matter experts will discuss the questions and possibilities for approaches to teacher pension plans, alternatives and the lifelong planning benefits needed to draw potential educators.

We look at the teaching profession through the lens of a variety of stake-holders. We’ll discuss teacher activism, examining both the results and the future of “Red for Ed” and similar movements. Three 2019 state Teachers of the Year — one each from a rural, suburban and urban school — share their views on burgeoning problems of recruitment and retention across the country.

We also share the views of parents on how best to encourage engagement, featuring a collection of responses detailing how parents and teachers may work better together on behalf of students.

Special to this issue are spotlights on Rodney Robinson, 2019 National Teacher of the Year, and Dr. Curtis Jones, 2019 National Superintendent of the Year. Reading their contributions underscores why they were each selected as standouts.

For all of us at Frontline, it is a privilege to focus this issue of The Line on advancing the teaching profession. This topic in particular struck up conversations among us about the teachers who influenced us and had a hand in molding who we each are today. And, as is fundamental to our mission, we encourage more discussion around the important value of teachers to society and invite discourse that is civil, productive and representative of a shared commitment to improving schools, whether we are parents, educators, administrators or government officials.

It is our belief that in the generations to come, we will be gratified by the fact that an openness to the new ideas we share today, coupled with a determination for collaboration, will lay the groundwork for outstanding K-12 education in every corner and under every circumstance where students seek to learn.

Best,

Mark Gruzin
CEO, Frontline Education