Press Release

As humans, we need and want to explore and understand the world around us — to learn. That's why we wrote The Elephant in the (Class)room. It reminds us that we're all learners. The Elephant trumpets that teaching and learning is a beautifully dynamic, relational human exchange. And that our humanity is the beating heart of our classrooms and every corner of the ecosystem we call "school." Today, we're excited to share The Elephant in the (Class)room with you.

The board is confident in Tommy’s abilities to stand on the shoulders of those who have stood before him and continue to advance the organization’s work to disrupt the predictability of educational inequities for systemically underserved students by accelerating educator effectiveness.

The grant from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) will support a partnership between the Niswonger Foundation and NTC to advance educational equity in pursuit of our shared vision for inclusive and thriving school communities.

The gift will support student-centered professional learning that empowers educators to take on the challenging inequities facing millions of systemically underserved students.

Dr. Blackburn played a critical role in advancing NTC over the past four years and he will support the new leadership team behind the scenes in the weeks ahead to ensure a smooth transition.

The rebrand reflects its commitment to center students, advance equity in schools, and empower educators with coaching-based professional learning.