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July 3, 2026
Dear Partners and Friends of the Progressive Education Network,
THANK YOU!
As we complete the 25-26 school year, we want to thank you for your work supporting the development of the hearts and minds of your students. At the annual PEN board retreat, we were reminded of the challenging work of making learning engaging and relevant, while also nurturing the social and emotional development of our students. In the face of these challenges, we resolved to support the humanity and joy of educators and create spaces for connection, growth, and celebration. Our board, representing schools and institutions all over the country, is committed to supporting your growth and have expanded our organization to better serve you.
Please welcome our recently added board members:
Francisca Guzman – Director of Advancement, Live Oak School, San Francisco,CA
Liz Kleinrock – Author, Consultant and Director of DEIB, Prospect Sierra School, Oakland,CA
Melissa Schmoll – Faculty, Hamlin Robinson School, Seattle,WA
They join current board members:
Kavan Yee (President) – Director of Middle School, Lowell School, Washington DC
Azizi Williams (Vice President) – Head of School, Children’s Community School, Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Williams (Treasurer) – Faculty, Wickliffe Progressive School, Columbus, OH
Scott Morrison (Secretary) – Professor of Education, Elon University, Elon, NC
Elaine Chu (Assistant Treasurer) – Co-Founder, Institute for Imaginative Inquiry, New York, NY
Tracy Aiden – Faculty, University of Chicago Laboratory School, Chicago, IL
Chris Thinnes – Consultant, Blink, Los Angeles,CA
Connect with Progressive Educators in our Network Year Round
We’re excited to announce a new Progressive Education Network Google group open to all PEN Partners as well as participants from our workshops and conferences. This is a dedicated space for the unique problems of practice that progressive educators and administrators grapple with in their work. The first question posed to the message board was: If someone asks you what it means to be a progressive educator, what do you say? We encourage you to use this link to sign up and join the discussion. This space will connect progressive educators around the globe and elevate our practice. In addition to posting and responding to questions, we encourage you to offer useful resources and strategies that might be helpful for others.
National Institute of the Progressive Education Network (NIPEN)
NIPEN is a unique professional development experience designed to deepen progressive practices in early career teachers or teachers needing a refresh. The 9th cohort of NIPEN was a success this year! Teachers from all over the country began their work together at City Neighbors Hamilton School in Baltimore, MD, in January and ended at Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, CA, in April/May. This year’s cohort worked to understand the following question: What is the role of the progressive teacher in the life of the student, in the life of the school, and in our democracy? At each school they observed classrooms and discussed progressive practices with this question in mind. In between the school visits, each teacher investigated a problem of practice in their own classroom setting and ended their time as a cohort presenting new understandings about progressive education based on the year’s experiences.
Registration for NIPEN 10.0 will be available in September with discounts available for member schools.
Upcoming Professional Development to Expand Progressive Practices
Institute for Imaginative Inquiry
The 10th annual Summer Institute for Imaginative Inquiry will take place August 10-13 in New York City at Friends Seminary School.
Imaginative Inquiry is a pedagogy that enrolls students as a team of experts who encounter complex, real-world problems in an imaginary context. As active participants in a fictional context, students use their skills, knowledge, emotions, and moral instincts to analyze situations, make decisions, and understand their impact on others. Participants in the Summer Institute will experience examples of Imaginative Inquiry units for grades K-6 and explore how the conventions, techniques, and philosophy of Imaginative Inquiry strengthen students’ social imagination, allowing them to create, reflect, and practice becoming agents of change in our world.
All PEN member schools can register participants at a 5% discount.
Progressive Education Conference
Our bi-annual conference will be hosted at Wickliffe Progressive School, in Columbus, Ohio, from October 2-4. This year’s conference theme is Beyond the Edges: What happens when the old edges themselves no longer hold? What comes after the versions of “traditional” and “progressive” education we’ve inherited?
This conference is an opportunity for the network to meet, visit schools, share and be inspired to further the work of progressive education and go beyond the edges. Member schools can register participants at a 10% discount.
We’re currently accepting conference proposals. Share your ideas at the conference! Submit proposals here.
PEN Membership Advantages
Your support of PEN is essential to do this work. If you have not already joined us please use this link to register.
Here are a few additional advantages of becoming a member:
- Jobs Posting
Post your open positions and reach potential employees across the country
- Reduced Fees for Programs
Discounts to our professional development programming including the Institute for Imaginative Inquiry, the PEN Conference, and NIPEN.
- Share News and Events
Member schools have access to post news and events on the PEN website to promote the important work that they are doing
- School Listing on the PEN website
Your logo will be proudly listed as a participating school demonstrating your school’s progressive values and alignment.
We look forward to working alongside you this year in support of our students, staff, and families.
In solidarity,
Board of Directors of the Progressive Education Network
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