News – Teachers Institute of Philadelphia

Yale Fellows Complete Their Units of Study August 16, 2026

The Teachers Institute of Philadelphia’s three Yale fellows, Bill Chenevert, Alima McKnight, and Kati Steiner, submitted units of study on August 14, completing Yale’s National Summer Intensive program. In the program, the teachers joined others from around the nation in seminars organized by TIP’s parent program, the Yale National Initiative. They began reading for the seminars in the spring of 2024, and beginning July 6, traveled to New Haven for two weeks of study with…

TIP Workshop Leader Emily Wilson’s Odyssey Translation Used in Christopher Nolan’s Film Adaptation July 27, 2026

Penn classics professor Emily Wilson, who led the TIP workshop “The Iliad and the Odyssey” in the fall of 2024, is enjoying worldwide attention for her 2017 translation of the Odyssey. The translation was used in director Christopher Nolan’s recently released film adaptation of the Homeric epic. The film has also been a box office success, earning $263.7 million worldwide in its opening weekend. In Wilson’s 2024 workshop, teachers from around the School District of…

TIP Fellow Danina Garcia a Finalist for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year May 29, 2026

TIP Fellow and Vaux High School Teacher was named one of 12 finalists for Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year in May. On June 11th, she will join other finalists in Harrisburg, where the winner will be selected based on interviews and recordings of their teaching. Sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the award is among the most prestigious recognitions for teachers nationwide. CCSSO provides winners from each state with a…

TIP Fellow Lisa Yau Receives Lindback Award

This spring, TIP Fellow and F. S. Key School Teacher Lisa Yau became the 34th TIP fellow to have received the prestigious Lindback Award for Distinguished Teachers. Presented by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, this honor recognizes the city’s top teachers for their dedication to promoting learning, character development, and student proficiency. Yau received the award along with 60 other educators at a ceremony…

Teacher Institute of Philadelphia Launches Spring 2026 Seminar Program February 10, 2026

On Wednesday, On Wednesday, January 21, a new cohort of Philadelphia public school teachers began their journey toward professional advancement. The teachers (called fellows) have begun semester-long seminars in which they will acquire cutting-edge knowledge from Penn and Temple professors. They will use this knowledge to develop curriculum units, which they will implement in their classrooms to enhance student learning. Successful completion of this program will earn the fellows 30 Act 48 credits and a…

Vaux High School Student Attends Yale Annual Conference with TIP Teacher November 10, 2025

On November 7th and 8th, a group of TIP Fellows and Vaux High School student Ameen Fleming accompanied his teacher Ms. Danina Garcia to the annual Yale National Initiative Conference. Ameen proudly represented the School District of Philadelphia at an event that drew teachers, students, and school district leaders from around the country. Ms. Garcia’s curriculum unit, “Efficiency & Faithfulness: How One Philly Nurse Fought Tuberculosis,” highlights the story of Elizabeth Tyler, a trailblazing Black…

TIP Showcase for USA 250 Workshops September 29, 2025

This fall, TIP will collaborate with the Penn Press and Penn GSE to offer a special set of workshops on Philadelphia History in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. These workshops will be led by authors of the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, a resource the Penn Press is distributing free to schools in the School District of Philadelphia. To celebrate the work of TIP Students and Fellows, a showcase…

2025 Spring Curriculum Units Posted! September 26, 2025

Pictured Above: Seminar leader Russell Richie teaches Fellows in his Introduction to Cognitive Science Workshop The 2025 Spring Curriculum Units are now available to view on our website! Last Spring there were four seminars led by our TIP Professors: Diverse Children’s Literature: Literary Art, Cultural Artifact and Contested Terrain led by Wanda Brooks Introduction To Cognitive Science: Uncovering the Machine in The Mind led by Russell Richie Robots And Smart Tech for Physical Therapy led…

TIP Fellows Complete the 2025 Yale National Initiative Program

Five Fellows from The Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) have completed the 2025 Yale National Initiative Program. The School District of Philadelphia has been a long-time participant in the Yale National Initiative, and it has led to impactful partnerships between TIP educators across the Philadelphia school district and local colleges, and universities. Five School District of Philadelphia educators who are also TIP Fellows, spent intensive time developing their content knowledge in the subjects they teach.…

TIP Professor Wins Pulitzer for Book on Soviet Dissent September 8, 2025

TIP Seminar Leader Benjamin Nathans won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for his book To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement. Benjamin Nathans is a historian and critically acclaimed professor at the University of Pennsylvania where he has taught since 1998. During his long tenure, he has devoted over four decades to the study of Soviet and Russian history, modern Jewish history, and the history…

USA 250 Showcase, September 18, 5-7 PM August 21, 2025

Together, the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP), Penn Press, and Penn GSE, are helping boost K-12 teachers’ knowledge of regional history and ecology, in preparation for the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. Our USA 250 Showcase will introduce a series of teacher workshops we are offering this fall, led by authors of Penn Press’s Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. In the workshops, teachers will write lesson plans that make use of Encyclopedia, a copy of…

TIP Fellows Join National Seminars at Yale Summer Institute July 15, 2025

Five Fellows from the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) are currently in New Haven, Connecticut, participating in the Yale National Summer Institute. These dedicated educators are taking part in an intensive seminar experience, where they are developing original units of study to bring back to their Philadelphia classrooms. The TIP National Fellows (as pictured) and their Yale seminars are: Marla Colondres, Swenson Arts and Technology High School: “Graphic Narratives as Teaching Tools,” led by Marta…

Temple’s College of Education and Human Development Host Its First TIP Seminar July 8, 2025

Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development recently led its first Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) seminar, marking a major step forward in its partnership with the program. The seminar, facilitated by Wanda Brooks, literacy professor and chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning, focused on innovative curriculum development to support Philadelphia public school teachers. As the first TIP seminar led by Temple’s College of Education, it highlighted the university’s commitment to empowering…

Colondres Receives Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award April 16, 2025

Fellow Marla Colondres has been selected as a recipient of the prestigious Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. Each year, the Lindback Foundation grants this award to 60 School District of Philadelphia teachers who have made a significant impact on the intellectual and character development of students. Colondres has been at Swenson Arts and Technology High School since 2016, where she teaches Spanish 1 & 2, and Spanish for Heritage Speakers. She has contributed to TIP for…

TIP Teachers Named Yale National Fellows April 14, 2025

Five members of the TIP program have been selected as 2025 National Fellows by the Yale National Initiative to strengthen public schools. They will travel to Yale University in July to participate in seminars led by Yale faculty, alongside peers from around the country. As they do at TIP, these School District of Philadelphia teachers will study a topic intensively under the guidance of their professor and develop a curriculum unit to be implemented into…

TIP Seminar Leader and Students Record Oral Histories of African Jewish Community March 28, 2025

Peter Decherney, who led the TIP seminar “History of Hollywood,” brought students to Uganda this past fall as part of a Penn Global Seminar. The Penn professor and TIP Advisory Council Member taught “Global Jewish Communities” with Sara Byala, in which students learned about the Abayudaya, an African Jewish community in Uganda. As the semester concluded, the seminar traveled to Mbale, a city in eastern Uganda, where the students conducted video interviews with the Abayudaya…

Students of TIP Fellow Honored at National Constitution Center March 21, 2025

Three students of Trey Smith, a TIP fellow and teacher at the Marian Anderson school, recently earned a first-place award at National History Day Philly for creating a documentary detailing challenges and changes that have shaped Chinatown’s complex history. The documentary, “Changes to Chinatown: Rights and Responsibilities” was produced with the help of stop-motion animation software Smith learned about in a fall 2024 TIP workshop. The workshop, titled “Animation and Learning” was led by Penn…

Temple’s College of Education Hosts First TIP Seminar March 12, 2025

Temple’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) joined the TIP partnership this spring with the seminar “Diverse Children’s Literature: Literary Art, Cultural Artifact and Contested Terrain.” Led by Professor Wanda Brooks, this course will cover literature for children and adolescents that reflects the perspectives of underrepresented groups. Since 2018, professors from Temple’s College of Liberal Arts have offered TIP seminars, but “Diverse Children’s Literature” is the first led by a CEHD faculty member. The…

TIP Advisory Council Member elected to National Academy of Education February 5, 2025

This past January, TIP University Advisory Council member Sigal Ben-Porath was elected to The National Academy of Education (NAEd). A prestigious honorific society founded in 1965, NAEd focuses on conducting research to improve education policy and practice. Ben-Porath’s research interests center on how academic institutions can advance and sustain democracy, and her current research involves civil dialogue in schools and colleges. Ben-Porath has been a part of Penn’s faculty since 2004. Alongside her role in…

Workshop Leader Emily Wilson’s Odyssey Translation in the News January 15, 2025

Penn Professor and TIP Workshop Leader Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer’s Odyssey, made the news recently when film director Christopher Nolan announced that he is working on an adaptation of the classic. Her 2017 version of the epic has been acclaimed as “a revelation” and “radically contemporary” by critics. Many hope he will use Wilson’s translation as a starting point for the film’s screenplay. Wilson also completed a translation of Homer’s Iliad…

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