Progressive Teachers Network

The Progressive Teacher Network is a learning collective designed to provide support for all practitioners who engage in a child-first perspective and want to engage with others in this essential work.

Our website features information, tools and more for educators who want to support each other and their progressive approaches to learning, teaching and leadership in schools.

The Progressive Teachers Network is an independent, not-for-profit project providing support, tools and empowerment for progressive teachers. All content on this site is copyright ©2023. All rights reserved. For information contact us.

Goals

1. The first goal of the PTN is to provide support for classroom teachers who are interested in, focused on or maintaining democratic education.
2. The second goal is to create a clearinghouse for child-centered teachers and administrators to connect with the great organizations and ideas that can make for more informed teaching. Feel free to follow any of the links and share other links at our email address.
3. The third goal is to provide information and strategies for creating child centered, democratic practices to enhance our democracy.

People

The Progressive Teachers Network is available for presentations, workshops, written pieces and more related to progressive teaching. For details contact us.

J. Cynthia McDermott of Antioch University LA, Founder

Dr. J. Cynthia McDermott began her teaching career as a high school English teacher and has been a teacher and teacher educator for 50 plus years. She has been a university faculty member working with preservice teachers during her recent career and is recently retired from the department chair of education at Antioch University Los Angeles position. Named a Soros Fellow, she began her work in Eastern Europe teaching in Moldova, Romania, Armenia and Turkey. Named to the ISSA Board (International Step and Step Association) she worked with multiple countries to increase critical thinking practices in former USSR nations.

Dr. McDermott’s first Fulbright Scholar award took her to and Sarajevo where she lived for six months working with university and k-12 teachers. Her second Fulbright was at Wroclaw University in Poland. Her pedagogical philosophy is based on the work of John Dewey and others that relates to a progressive student-centered approach. Engaged with several community college faculty at Southwest and Ventura she was proud to learn with those colleagues in a faculty academy setting. She has enjoyed publishing in a variety of areas and her latest effort, Democracy Deficit Disorder: Learning Democracy with Young People, was published in 2023 by Peter Lang International Academic Publishers. A complete list of her publications is available here. Being a mother of two and a grandmother of 5 is her happiest and proudest accomplishment.

Adam F.C. Fletcher of the Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement, Coordinator

A longtime advocate, researcher, and educator focused on youth engagement, Adam’s lived experience and professional expertise includes meaningful student involvement, youth-led social change, adultism, saving democracy and more. Supporting more than 1,000,000 children, youth and adults with learning activities, projects, tools and more, Adam has worked on more than 700 projects in 1,500 communities around the world. The author of more than 50 publications for K-12 schools, nonprofits, government agencies and others, he is a co-author with Dr. McDermott of Democracy Deficit Disorder: Learning Democracy With Young People, as well as a contributor to the ASCD Educational Leadership, NAESP Principal, other education periodicals. With lived experience in childhood homelessness and generational PTSD, as well as a professional background in research, practice and leadership including K-12 education systems, public health, workforce development and more, Adam offers practical, purposeful knowledge and action for the movement today.

Advisory Board

• Miryam Jannol, Workplace Literacy Associates
• Sara Alice Tucker, Piedmont University
• Martel Okonji, CSUN University
• Bryce Davis,
• Vickie Warner,
• Leah Hanes,
• Sara Kaviar,