Deborah Meier Video Activity

Money, Time, Resources

Special Thanks to the Center for Educational Leadership for the use of this video.

For 20 years, Deborah Meier helped revitalize public schools in New York City’s East Harlem district. In 1974, Superintendent Tony Alvarado asked Meier to test her theories in a new elementary school in Harlem’s District 4, where test scores were the lowest in the city. She founded Central Park Elementary School (CPE), a highly successful alternative school emphasizing active learning. Within the next dozen years, Meier opened two other Central Park elementary schools and, in collaboration with the National Coalition of Essential Schools, the Central Park East Secondary School.

As a team, please listen to the following video segment and work within your group to discuss the questions at the bottom of this page. Deborah Meier poses some interesting questions and comments about money, time, and resources.

Video Link – Money, Time, and Resources

Questions for dialogue

  1. Do you think money controls what happens at the school level?
  2. In the most recent opinion polls (and national opinion polls in the past), the judgment of teachers is ranked higher than doctors, lawyers, business people, politicians, principals, etc. Why do you think this is the case? How can teachers use this information to leverage improvements in education?
  3. Deborah states that thinking takes time. How can educators demonstrate the value of “thinking” to improve student learning and instructional practice?
  4. How does this information relate to professional learning communities?
  5. Other comments about the video segment?