Who We Are
Teacher Initiated Education Institute is an educator-founded organization dedicated to strengthening schools through teacher-led, research-based models that honor professional expertise, restore trust, take into account student experience, and build sustainable systems of support.
Our work is informed by direct experience across diverse educational contexts, both in the United States and internationally. This perspective shapes our commitment to designing structures that work not only for those who participate readily, but also for students and educators whose engagement may be cautious, inconsistent, or quiet—often as a result of prior experiences of exclusion, bias, or mistrust. We believe belonging includes those who do not raise their hands, and that equity is not only about categories, but about access without exposure. Effective schools recognize this reality by creating environments where participation is invited, protected, and never forced.
We exist because meaningful educational improvement is not built through mandates alone. It is built when educators are given the time, structures, and professional space to lead—together.
Our Story
Teacher Initiated Education Institute was founded in response to a familiar challenge in schools: change is frequently driven top-down rather than built bottom-up, often sidelining teacher expertise and leaving educators without the conditions needed for sustainable implementation.
The Institute’s approach is shaped by the founder’s experience as a classroom educator, learning designer, and founder and CEO of a multi-employee organization, where she built and led multidisciplinary teams, designed and scaled learning programs, and managed complex implementation across languages, sectors, and professional contexts in both Europe and the United States. This leadership experience informs the Institute’s focus on models that are coherent, scalable, and sustainable—grounded in real practice and attentive to how systems function over time.
Across classroom instruction, professional development, and adult learning design, the founder’s experience reinforced a central insight: effective learning systems are precise, practice-based, and grounded in authentic use. They are designed with attention to how people actually participate—not just how they are expected to participate—and they function best when structures support collaboration, confidence, and gradual release rather than performance or compliance.
From the beginning, the founder recognized the importance of closing the loop between professional learning, classroom practice, and student experience. As a result, the Institute’s models are not only teacher-led, but continuously informed by what happens with students in real classrooms—ensuring that professional development translates into meaningful, observable instructional impact.
We saw the need for solutions that are:
Designed by teachers
Tested in real classrooms and schools
Informed by structured, meaningful student feedback
Sustainable without compliance overload
Aligned with research and district priorities
Built on autonomy, trust, and belonging
Following implementation, student voice plays a critical role. Students provide measured feedback on lessons, instructional strategies, and learning experiences, offering a rare and powerful perspective on how professional development translates into practice.
Our work is grounded in lived educator experience, strengthened by research, and informed by student feedback—because the best ideas in education begin at the classroom level and must be validated there.
Our Philosophy
We believe:
Teachers are the most powerful drivers of school improvement
Well-being and instructional excellence are deeply connected
Professional culture matters—and it must be built with trust
Voluntary, non-evaluative structures protect psychological safety and participation
Instructional impact should be visible in student engagement, understanding, and experience
The most effective innovations are replicable, practical, and teacher-owned
Teacher Initiated Education Institute supports schools in creating environments where educators can collaborate, reflect, and lead—guided not only by professional expertise, but by informed student feedback that reveals real classroom impact—without adding another initiative that drains capacity.
Partner With Us
Whether you are exploring a school-based pilot, district implementation, or professional development support, we would love to connect. Contact us to learn more about programs, licensing, and partnership options.