Teachers as Scholars: The Death and Life of Great American Public Schools – Jul 20 & 27

Posted by Swarthmore College on June 2, 2026

Teachers as Scholars – Invitation to participate at Swarthmore College

The Teaching & Learning Commons at Swarthmore College is pleased to invite you and your colleagues to the Teachers as Scholars Program. Teachers as Scholars provides K-12 teachers with professional development in the form of college seminars– at no cost to the participants. Unlike traditional PD, which relates directly to pedagogy or curriculum, Teachers as Scholars offers the opportunity for educators to explore important topics that may or may not relate to their area of teaching expertise, facilitated by Swarthmore College professors. We believe that working educators benefit and grow from protected time to be scholars.

This summer, Dr. Roseann Liu, Associate Professor of Educational Studies & Asian American Studies, will lead the seminar, The Death and Life of Great American Public Schools. Geared toward Philadelphia public school teachers, this two-day seminar will help us collectively make sense of current conditions of public education. We will explore contemporary struggles over school funding, closures, and toxic school facilities through the rubric of organized abandonment, situating these within the broader attack on public education in the last half century.

“The Death and Life of Great American Public Schools,”
Monday, July 20 9:30am-3:00pm
Monday, July 27 9:30am-3:00pm
Swarthmore College
McCabe Library 104, LibLab
500 College Ave.
Swarthmore, PA

**REGISTER HERE FOR THE SUMMER 2026 SEMINAR**

*Please register by Monday, June 22

Our program is part of a historic national project connecting higher education institutions to local teachers and is offered at no cost to educators or schools. We aim to have teachers from across the Philadelphia area attend these workshops and keep the cohorts small (usually 15-20 teachers) so that the experience is lively and intimate. We also provide breakfast and lunch. Administrators, please send this invitation to your K-12 educators. Educators, please send to your colleagues. We ask that you register only if you can commit to both dates of the seminars, for the full time period each day.

We look forward to working with you/ your teachers this year. Please be in touch with any questions.