A National Listening Tour

Empowering Teacher Voice

Become a Local Partner

Teachers shape every profession. It is time their voices help shape the future of education.

What educators share will shape what we do next

Teachers at the Center is a national listening tour ensuring educators’ voices help shape the decisions, policies, and systems that affect their work.

Across tour stops, we will identify common themes, regional distinctions, policy barriers, promising practices, and potential levers for change.

The learning will inform a national white paper and action-oriented policy agenda focused on what can change at the school, district, local, state, and federal levels.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Why Teachers at the Center

What we are listening for

This tour creates trusted spaces for educators to speak candidly, for leaders and institutions to listen, and for communities to identify practical levers for action.

At every stop, teachers are the experts in the room. The same core questions guide the national tour so we can identify common themes and meaningful regional differences, while leaving space for each community’s distinct context.

 

The Teaching Experience Today

What does it feel like to be a teacher right now?

We want to hear what educators love most about teaching, what keeps them connected to the work, and what it means to serve students and communities in this moment.

Retention, Well-being, and Professional Fulfillment

What would help educators thrive, remain, and lead?

We explore what makes teaching harder than it should be; what helps educators stay; what would help teachers fall more deeply in love with the profession; and what the future requires beyond compensation alone.

Systems, Supports, and Accountability

What do educators need from the systems around them?

We listen for the supports, conditions, and policies that matter most—and for what educators need from schools, districts, preparation programs, unions, communities, funders, policymakers, and other leaders.

Change, Innovation, and the Future

How can change strengthen the profession rather than distance it?

We explore how educators are experiencing AI, technology, innovation, and broader school change; what feels promising; what creates concern; and how new approaches can be designed with teachers at the center.

Bring the Tour to Your Community

Teachers at the Center is a national initiative, but every stop must be grounded in local educator experience.

The first official listening-tour stop will take place in Annapolis, Maryland, on September 29, 2026, followed by additional conversations in communities across the country.

Each gathering will reflect its local context while contributing to a broader national understanding of what educators need from the profession and the systems surrounding them.

 

More About City Teaching Alliance
CARE IN ACTION

Caring for the adults who care for children

Teachers at the Center extend City Teaching Alliance’s commitment to rigorous, human-centered educator development.

At our core, we believe educator development must be both high-quality and deeply human-centered—and that those closest to the work must have a meaningful voice in shaping its future.

The listening tour is an extension of our C.A.R.E. Philosophy

  • Community
    Creating trusted spaces where educators can connect, speak honestly, and learn from one another.
  • Advocacy
    Elevating educator voice and bringing it into proximity with people who can influence policy, practice, and investment.
  • Resources
    Identifying the conditions and supports educators need to thrive professionally and personally.
  • Empowerment
    Ensuring teachers have meaningful opportunities to shape the future of their profession.

    • From listening to action

    Across tour stops, we will identify common themes, regional distinctions, policy barriers, promising practices, and potential levers for change.

    The learning will inform a national white paper and action-oriented policy agenda focused on what can change at the school, district, local, state, and federal levels.

    Fill out the form below to receive updates about upcoming stops, event recaps, and opportunities to join the conversation.

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