Dear Cotsen Colleagues,

Welcome to a series of  videos recorded by fellows and mentors representing the graduating class of 2021. Although we cannot gather in person this year for the culmination of the fellowships, we are nonetheless excited to celebrate and salute our fellows and mentors on the journey that they have just completed.

The 2020-2021 school year was a momentous one. We grew in ways we didn’t know we could, we firmly held onto hope, and we tried every single day. As this year came to a close, a few of your colleagues took time to reflect and capture their thoughts about being a part of the fellowship. We hope you enjoy listening to and connecting with their experiences. Speaking on behalf of the 2021 graduating class are the following representatives: (Click the link to watch on YouTube).

First, our Founding Director, Mrs. Margit Sperling Cotsen, and I would like to share a few to thank the graduates for their dedication and commitment to teaching excellence.

, fellow, Villacorta Elementary, Rowland
, fellow, Hancock Park Elementary, Los Angeles
, fellow, Phelan Language Academy, Whittier City
, fellow, Whitaker School, Buena Park
, mentor, Beatty School, Buena Park
, mentor, Cabrillo Elementary, Wiseburn

To the graduating class, you inspire us, and we can hardly wait to witness all the magic that you will bring to your students.

Sincerely,

Jerry Harris
Executive Director

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
               From “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman

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The Cotsen Foundation hosted an end-of-year celebration for its graduating ART of TEACHING mentors and fellows at the Skirball Cultural Center on May 20th.

The afternoon was a celebratory luncheon in honor of the graduating Cotsen Class of 2018. Kicking off the luncheon, , founding director and board chair, and , president and director, came to the lectern to welcome to fellows, mentors, alumni and administrators.

“This is truly my most favorite event,” Mrs. Cotsen remarked. “We’re here to celebrate your graduation from the �����app of TEACHING program. A graduation usually signifies an ending, but today is really the beginning of your journey with us.”

Called to the speakers’ table, six fellows and a mentor took their places and prepared to speak about their journey in the �����app of TEACHING.

Speaking on behalf of the 2018 graduating class were the following representatives: (Click the link to watch on YouTube)

, fellow, Old River Elementary, Downey

, fellow, Woodcrest Elementary, Fullerton

, fellow, Robinson Academy, Long Beach

, fellow, Wild Rose Elementary, Monrovia

, fellow, Escalona Elementary, Norwalk-LaMirada

, fellow, Nelson Elementary, Tustin

, mentor, Burnett Elementary, Wiseburn

Concluding the program, Executive Director, came to the lectern to thank his staff, and the graduates for their dedication to excellent teaching. “To our 2018 graduating fellows and mentors, you understand and embrace the gravity of your work. You continue to press for personal and professional excellence and you commit your time and your energy to prefect your craft and become the magicians that Mr. Cotsen so lovingly spoke about. So, I want to congratulate you and thank you for being extraordinary educators.”

With his closing remarks the newly minted alumni received their graduation certificates. Cotsen also announced their brand-new alumni pins, which were distributed to all alumni present at the event. The class of 2018 marks the 15th consecutive end-of-year graduation ceremony since the founding of the �����app of TEACHING program in 2001. The Cotsen alumni network has since grown to 1245 educators.

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By �����app —

�����app mentors and fellows observe a teacher at Billy Mitchell Elementary and share their thoughts on the process.

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At the �����app, we encourage our fellows to provide us with constructive feedback regarding their perception of the work we do at the �����app of TEACHING.

Since 2008, we have captured fellows’ feedback via our annual survey, aimed at assessing their perception of the program and the likelihood that they will utilize what they have learned at the �����app of TEACHING to continue to enhance their teaching practice even after their two-year fellowship has come to an end.

Last December, , which revealed a collective belief among fellows that the �����app of TEACHING enhanced their skills, increased their passion for teaching, and strengthened their ability to inspire students. Our fellows were adamant that the skills acquired as part of their ART of TEACHING fellowship would likely continue to enhance their practice well into the future.

We could not have been more pleased with those results, until this year, when we received the results of our 2012 survey. Once again, we asked fellows to candidly share their perception of the fellowship. And once again, their responses demonstrated an overwhelmingly positive perception of the fellowship and a strong belief that the �����app of TEACHING has:

• Improved their ability to instruct
• Deepened their content knowledge pertaining to their area of focus
• Increased their passion for teaching and ability to inspire students
• Expanded their repertoire of teaching methods
• Encouraged collaboration among students and joint work among teachers
• Increased expectations of students’ learning
• Encouraged fellows to take on leadership roles at their schools
• Taught fellows skills that will continue to enhance their teaching practice even after completion of their fellowship

The positive feedback of our fellows, while a validation of our program, is really a testament to their hard work and the commitment of their mentors over the course of their fellowship.

At the �����app of TEACHING, we believe an openness and a willingness to learn is one of many steps towards achieving “excellence in teaching”. Through our surveys, we hope to demonstrate that we too are open and willing to learn, to improve, and to enhance the impact of our fellowship.

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Judy Johnson, the executive director of the �����app, discusses the �����app of TEACHING program, what makes it unique, and how fellows benefit from it.

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Judy Johnson, the executive director of the �����app, offers advice to new fellows in the �����app of TEACHING program, encouraging them to take advantage of the resources provided to them, to be passionate about their learning, and to be willing to take risks in the pursuit of teaching excellence.

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Teachers talk about how the �����app Annual Conference provides them opportunities to learn from experts, connect with colleagues, and get ideas on how to improve their teaching.

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Last year, the �����app had the distinct pleasure of working with 133 fellows, 24 mentors, and 30 schools, as well as 256 alumni who participated in foundation-sponsored activities. Together, these teachers affected more than 11,000 students over the course of the 2010–2011 academic year.

While these figures measure some aspects of our accomplishments, the work we do at the �����app is much more than a tally of our numbers, just as artful teaching is much more than a sum of its parts.

With this in mind, we are pleased to bring you . This new publication will aim to not only capture the sum of our latest events and activities, but more importantly, the spirit of our program, at the heart of which is a community of people who have come together with the goal of developing gifted teachers and artful teaching.

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On Saturday, September 24^th, �����app proudly hosted its 6^th Annual the �����app of TEACHING Conference, which took place at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, California. With more than 450 guests in attendance – comprised of mentors, fellows, alumni, principals and administrators from nineteen districts across California – this year’s conference marked the start of the 11^th year of the �����app fellowship.

The conference commenced with opening remarks by Dr. Judy Johnson, Executive Director of the �����app, who looked back at the foundation’s commitment to artful teaching over the last decade. Looking forward to the next decade, Dr. Johnson encouraged fellows and alumni to continue their pursuit of teaching excellence, but also “to help the public and policy community to understand the true importance of teaching excellence, and to become aware of the nuanced skill of teaching.”

, who currently serves as dean of the University of Michigan School of Education, continued this theme in her keynote address, entitled . Dr. Ball argued that there are “high-leverage” skills that all good teaching has in common, and that the teaching community needs to articulate these skills in order to promote teaching as a profession.

The conference also featured special sessions, led by notable educators and professional development experts, including:

• – One of the nation’s leading experts on teaching writing to students in grades K-12

• – Elementary school teachers and published authors, with over 60 years of teaching experience between them

• – Faculty member at San Francisco State University’s Center for Teacher Efficacy

• and – Professional developers from Lawrence Hall of Science, the University of California, Berkeley

�����app is grateful to all who attended and presented at the 6^th Annual the �����app of TEACHING Conference.

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By Cotsen Staff, �����app —

Teachers Jennifer Moore, Mediha Din and Elizabeth Wystrach talk about what their experience as �����app fellows means to them and how it has helped to improve their teaching.

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