The authors reflect on their work as educators committed to socially just pedagogies in support of students with refugee backgrounds. Lauren is a teacher of new-to-country students in a public high school; Terri is her former university instructor and a teacher educator in a small liberal arts college. Together, they share the goal of developing socially just pedagogies that go beyond traditional English as a second language and English language arts instructional models.

This chapter explores the reciprocal nature of professional development. The narrative follows Allison’s and Leah’s evolution as English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers/teacher educators whose praxis takes on new and expanding areas of foci. Their professional relationship is described through the presentation of vignettes that illustrate key moments when they engage in meaningful explorations of critical approaches to teacher education.

This chapter addresses the importance of recruiting and retaining teachers of color, especially in the rapidly shifting field of special education. The chapter highlights narratives of two teacher leaders, Martin and Deeqaifrah, who thrive because of their relationships with, and connections to, their former mentors and teacher educators, Shelley and Lynn, at the university level.

This chapter outlines a model for practicing culturally relevant teaching. The authors explore culturally-responsive teaching from three distinct, yet overlapping, perspectives. Together, the three voices make clear that it is only by rowing together in the same direction that they can buffet themselves from the prevailing winds that seek to couple minority status with failure.

Chapter 5 builds upon Britzman’s (1991) concept of chronologies. Arguing that the process of teachers’ evolution throughout their career is influenced by chronologies, which convey a simultaneity of time, place, events, and the meanings that we give to them (Britzman, 1991, p. 55), Flynn and Hallman trace the chronologies in their own careers as teacher and teacher educator in order to highlight moments where the political dimension of teaching and schooling played a significant role.

Chapter 6 features the effects of top-down educational reform on one beginning teacher, co-author of the chapter, Arpan Patel. Describing these initiatives as framed by restrictive curriculum, over-emphasis on testing, and the de-professionalization of teachers (Au, 2007, Zeichner, 2010), this chapter locates such reforms as especially commonplace in urban settings which have been subjected to years of slim resource allocation and private-sector influences (Au, 2009).

This chapter examines the ways that two former high school teacher colleagues thrived in a standards-based educational environment by seeking pathways for professional development and personal growth. These pathways led each colleague toward innovative pedagogies in their disciplines and to take on roles as teacher-leaders.

Chapter 8 discusses how participation in a state-wide professional community can sustain teachers’ work. Deb, a veteran English teacher, and Kristen, an English teacher educator, feature how the collaboration fostered within this professional network helped Deb advocate for curriculum that authentically addressed the needs and interests of her students. This chapter explores how the co-authors’ participation within an English teacher, teacher educator, and English language arts student community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991) cultivated opportunities for both professional growth and innovative curricular change in the face of both national and local pressures for standardization.

In Chapter 9, the authors explore the challenging instructional shifts science teachers and science teacher educators make to meaningfully implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Discussing how the authors’ continually-evolving collaboration helped them to persevere in this changing disciplinary shift, Elizabeth, Candice, and Sylvia present a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) between university researchers and science teachers in a large public school district. Focusing on shared expertise, reflection on data, and analysis of instructional materials, this partnership created meaningful opportunities to re-envision assessments and align science classrooms with real-world science innovations.

This chapter illustrates an innovative partnership between a high school math teacher and two math teacher educators created to address the need to better support high school seniors who struggled to succeed in College Algebra at a community college or university. The creation of a senior algebra course built on differentiated instruction and individualized, diverse assessments emerged from this collaboration. The authors of this chapter illustrate the importance implementing surveys for students on their understanding of larger math concepts and the way students’ reflections on their own learning are powerful tools to address student areas of need.

Chapter 11 explores the authors’ experiences with a digital social studies classroom and its evolution into a networked public space connected students and teachers across multiple schools. The space developed into a Professional Learning Network (PLN) built on the confluence of research, practice, and theory and open to teachers across multiple schools. Exploring concepts surrounding Just War, teachers and their students were able to connect and inquire into ethical issues in civics, analyze primary source texts collaboratively, and try out new digital learning tools.

The final chapter in the book examines how a teacher and teacher educator created a professional development school (PDS) partnership committed to equity and conceptualized as a vehicle to push back against the professional demands and isolation both educators experienced within the context of New Times. Foregrounding their partnership in a shared orientation of hope, the authors re-envision teacher education and secondary school relationships through building authentic relationships between school partners, creating a new vision for clinical placements, and nurturing personal and professional identities.