Deb Sawch is an education consultant helping schools to document, assess, and incorporate critical, creative, social-emotional, and global perspectives into their approaches to teaching and learning. Currently, she is a research/practice consultant focused on educator well-being for the Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence. She has served as both an embedded researcher and as practitioner/coach to support a range of schools and education programs across the US and globally.
Deb was a co-founder/former co-director of the Global Learning Alliance at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also co-founded the Studies in Education Innovation Initiative. While there, Deb spent several years researching top performing schools in Singapore, Australia, Canada, China, and Finland to uncover elements of world-class educational approaches that could be incorporated into systems and practices in the United States.
Deb is a co-author/editor of the book Educating for the 21st Century: Perspectives, Policies, and Practices from Around the World (Springer, 2017). She is a former classroom teacher. In addition, she served on the advisory board of Teach for America/CT and as its board chair from 2012-2017. Prior to her work in education, Deb was a marketing executive, most recently the Director of Strategic Alliances at Kraft Foods.
Deb received her Doctorate in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University where she also received her MA and Ed.M. degrees. She received her BA with Distinction from The University of Connecticut.
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Transcend’s Leaps for Equitable, 21st-Century Learning describes the key ways we believe the student experience must change so that schools can prepare all young people to thrive in and transform the world.
Transform Learning with Community-Based Design
Community-based design is a collaborative and local process that brings together young people, educators, administrators, caregivers, and experts to redesign learning. It goes beyond traditional school improvement initiatives by involving the entire community in reshaping...