Newsletter archive

Issue No. 4: The Next Education Workforce initiative’s commitment to collaboration

Issue No. 3: What I want for my own children and for every student

Issue No. 2: What we learned this year about strategic school staffing

Issue No. 1: Welcome to the Next Education Workforce newsletter

Issue No. 4: The Next Education Workforce initiative’s commitment to collaboration

The Next Education Workforce initiative's commitment to collaboration

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Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version: Issue No. 4 | Sept. 23, 2025

“I mean, I can do a lot of things, but I can’t do it all well.”

Above, Becca Bradley, a 2nd-grade teacher in Concord, Michigan, puts into words what so many educators feel about the limits of a conventional one-teacher, one-classroom school staffing model.

Teaching was the best job that I ever had, but no one should have to do all the things we expect educators to do without the support of a team. However, shifting to a team-based staffing model is not easy. It takes curiosity, collaborative spirit and a deep understanding of your students and colleagues in order to imagine, and then build, a new way of working together.

That same commitment to collaboration is fueling momentum across other areas of our work. This month, North Dakota became the first state to secure U.S. Department of Labor approval for a Lead Teacher Registered Apprenticeship, and new partnerships in Tennessee, Michigan and Arizona are focused on how strong educator teams can strengthen instruction and improve student outcomes.

Nearly a decade into the work of building new school staffing models, we’ve learned that lasting solutions don’t come in isolation from any one school, district or organization. They emerge when we learn from each other, adapt promising ideas to new contexts and push the boundaries of what’s possible together.

This month’s newsletter reflects that collaboration, including opportunities for you to share your expertise at the Strategic School Staffing Summit, insights from global partnerships and practical tools for leaders ready to implement teaming. I hope you’ll read on, take inspiration from our partners and add your voice to the conversation.

Have ideas, questions or challenges you’d like us to explore in future issues? Drop us a line at edworkforce@asu.edu. We’d love to hear from you.

— Brent Maddin, Executive Director

What Dutch and U.S. educators are learning from each other

The kindergarten classroom of De Werkplaats in the Netherlands.

The Kindergarten classroom of De Werkplaats. Credit: Onderwijsgek

The Next Education Workforce and Saxion University in the Netherlands are working together to rethink school staffing and support for educators. Step inside Dutch schools, where team-based staffing, flexible grouping and shared responsibility are helping teachers collaborate more deeply and meet the needs of every student. This partnership is sparking a two-way exchange of ideas and shaping new approaches to building strong, sustainable teaching teams on both sides of the Atlantic.

Read the blog post

A Q&A with the authors of ‘Unlocking the Potential of Team-Based Staffing’

A graphic featuring an image of the book

“At the heart of it, I want this book to show how schools can become a much more collaborative effort; a place where success doesn’t rely on a single teacher but is shared across a team,” Lennon Audrain says in a Q&A about the Next Education Workforce™ initiative’s new book published by Harvard Education Press, “Unlocking the Potential of Team-Based Staffing.”

In this author Q&A, Lennon, Brent W. Maddin, Lisa Maresso Wyatt and Kaycee Salmacia share why they wrote this book, which gives school and system leaders concrete steps to plan and launch team-based strategic school staffing models. They also discuss the experiences that helped shape their writing and why this book is important, especially now.

Read the Q&A

Last call: Summit proposals due Sept. 29

A graphic with the text: Strategic School Staffing Summit 2026 content strands. Underneath, four different bubbles with graphics representing the four content strands.

Every year, the Strategic School Staffing Summit brings together hundreds of educators, leaders, policymakers and advocates to share ideas, strategies, practices and conditions that enable a more diverse, team-based education workforce. If you have a story, strategy or insight that can inspire and inform the future of school staffing to create better outcomes for both students and educators, apply by Sept. 29.

Submit your proposal

What we’re reading/listening to …

Lennon Audrain on Lead Teacher Apprenticeships: A video primer on North Dakota’s new Lead Teacher Registered Apprenticeship — the first of its kind in the nation — which is strengthening educator teams and keeping great educators in the classroom.
Center on Reinventing Public Education’s State of the Student: This year’s report spotlights troubling declines in math achievement and offers concrete steps states and systems can take to get students back on track.

Before you go

See team-based school staffing models in action. Register by Oct. 1 to receive early-bird pricing for our Nov. 18-19 Site Visit in Arizona.
Learn how the Community Educator Learning Hub is helping CTE education pathway programs upskill mentors and students, and register for an Oct. 29 webinar.
Hear from educators and leaders successfully implementing team-based staffing models with a free, virtual Explore Experience
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