Two fiery teachers return to national forum

Butler High biology teacher Joanna Schimizzi will take part in a nationally televised "teacher town hall" this weekend,  part of the NBC Education Nation summit taking place in New York City. The town hall,  moderated by Brian Williams,  will air live on MSNBC from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Schimizzi

Schimizzi got a kick out of the  "teachers on fire"  label I gave her and Rob Leichner when they returned sizzling with excitement after last year's summit. And she chafed a bit at comments suggesting that the two young teachers weren't likely to stick around long. She and Leichner sent a joint  email to let folks know that both are still teaching  (Leichner is at West Meck)  and still enthusiastic.

Both are advising the U.S. Department of Education,  served on CMS task forces and are working on Common Core academic standards. Both were chosen as CMS STEM all-star teachers and are returning to the summit this year.

Leichner

"We are so proud to represent our students,  our schools,  our district,  our state and all the dedicated teachers who are answering NBC's 2013 question 'What does it take?' "  they wrote.

The summit starts at 8 a.m. Sunday with a student town hall and includes a range of panels and speakers Monday and Tuesday.  You can catch parts on various NBC shows or look for the live stream on  EducationNation.com, the NBC News YouTube Channel and YouTube’s Education Channel.