There are innovative educators in thousands of classrooms all across America. Having served as a middle grades educator and instructional leader for six years in New Mexico, Oregon, and North Carolina, Kris L. Nielsen is one of them. Nielsen became frustrated as he watched political policies put in place that are strangling the drive and desire for educators to be the innovative class leaders they grew to be. Even worse, he found the new national standards, which he and others were being forced to implement, by design, have squelched the ability to allow students to be creative and innovative themselves.

As a result Nielsen was compelled to write Children of the Core written with parents in mind, and with students as the inspiration. Nielsen says, “We--parents, students, and teachers--were promised a revolutionary new system that would narrow the achievement gaps in reading and math, create environments for deeper and critical thinking, and prepare our students for life, career, and college. What we’re finding is that none of this is true. It’s all totally opposite.”

Nielsen has refocused his work to fight for the schools our children need. He is speaking out and publishing his work in places like the Washington Post, The Innovative Educator, and Diane Ravitch’s blog. He explains that students need all of us to be willing to stand up for them and tell the corporate education reformers and government leaders that they can’t treat us this way.