2012 Speakers
EPCON 2012: The Power of Entrepreneurship for Social Change
Timothy F.C. Knowles, John Dewey Director and Clinical Professor at The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute (UEI)
Timothy Knowles serves as the John Dewey Director and Clinical Professor at The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute (UEI).
UEI is dedicated to building knowledge to produce reliably excellent schooling for children growing up in urban America.
UEI undertakes rigorous applied research to inform practitioners and policy makers; develops innovative programs to train and support urban teachers and leaders; designs and operates exemplary PreK-12th grade schools on the Chicago’s South Side; and builds and disseminates scaleable models and tools to improve urban schools nationwide. UEI literacy, school organization and college readiness tools are being used in 33 cities and 19 states across the country – including some of the highest performing urban schools nationwide. The UEI applied research model is being replicated in Newark, New York City, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, Texas and elsewhere.
Prior to coming to Chicago, Knowles served as Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning with the Boston Public Schools. In Boston he created two organizations devoted to building the pipeline of high quality teachers and school leaders – the Boston Teacher Residency and the Boston Principal Institute. He also served as co-director of the Boston Annenberg Challenge, a nationally recognized effort to improve literacy instruction.
Prior to his work in Boston he founded and directed a K-8 school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York City. He served as the founding director of Teach for America in New York City, and served as a teacher of African History in Botswana.
He has written and spoken extensively on the topics of school leadership, teacher quality, school reform, and accountability in public schools.
He received his B.A. in Anthropology from Oberlin College and his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
