From the Editor’s Desk
How Far We’ve Come
Contributions by Linda Abrams, Melissa Livingston, Kirstin J. Milks, Dina Portnoy, Kelsey Rasmussen, and Rebecca Van Tassell.
An idea hatched 10 years ago when the three Knowles Teacher Initiative (Knowles) directors met at then-Executive Director Nicole Gillespie’s home for their weekly meeting. They discussed how to keep the hundred or so experienced teachers who had finished the five-year Teaching Fellowship connected and active within the Knowles community. Dina Portnoy, a recent hire, had been tasked with creating a program for this growing body of alumni (now called the Senior Fellows Program). The directors held the belief that through practitioner inquiry teachers could generate knowledge about their classrooms and wanted to see how to put this idea into practice more formally with Senior Fellows.
Dina’s roles as an English teacher, leader in the Philadelphia site of the National Writing Project, and director of an urban teacher master’s program prepared Dina to embrace the opportunity to support Senior Fellow innovation, inquiry, and leadership. She gathered up interested Senior Fellows and a team of advisors from the National Writing Project to develop a teacher inquiry community called PING: Practitioner Inquiry for the Next Generation. Senior Fellow Rebecca (Becky) Van Tassell was one of the participants—she recalls investigating practical aspects about teaching such as, “understanding how to support our students, making sense of our roles as teacher-leaders in our schools, and thinking about structures in schools that impacted students’ abilities and motivations to learn” (R. Van Tassell, personal communication, August 30, 2024). As PING participants explored their own teaching practice and shared their learning with one another, they became convinced that this was real knowledge and were motivated to make their learnings public beyond the group. However, that kind of knowledge wasn’t typically found in academic journals. Nicole wondered, maybe we need a journal? Dina and Research Director Jodie Galosy agreed, and a vision for Kaleidoscope emerged. An editorial board of Senior Fellows formed as an outgrowth of PING and ultimately created a journal for teachers and by teachers. Dina credits, “Senior Fellows took the idea and ran with it. They refined it and did the work” (D. Portnoy, personal communication, August 30, 2024). They named it Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives to honor that there is no one “right way” to teach and that we need everyone’s ideas to be heard. The first print issue of Kaleidoscope was published in fall of 2014.
The directors held the belief that through practitioner inquiry teachers could generate knowledge about their classrooms and wanted to see how to put this idea into practice more formally with Senior Fellows.
Now, just over 10 years later, that initial vision has blossomed to include our online journal (Kaleidoscope) and a broader program (Kaleidoscope) that showcases teacher-story-tellers and engaged readers and writers from all over the country. Our staff of editors and peer advisors support all teacher-writers who publish in Kaleidoscope. We also support Knowles Fellows who write for other journals or blogs and help them develop the leadership stories that emerge from their inquiry work in the final year of the five-year Fellowship. Kaleidoscope continues to explore publishing a variety of media, including podcasts, videos, poetry, interviews, and comics. We also support authors in non-published storytelling by hosting in-person story slams, weekly writing prompts, immersive writing retreats, and reading groups.
As an editorial staff, we are proud of the work we have accomplished, but we did not start out as experts. The experience of editing the journal and building Kaleidoscope programming helped each of us grow as teachers, writers, and leaders in the profession. When we asked past and current editors, “How did being an editor affect you, either personally or professionally?”, a common theme emerged: a deep gratitude to everyone who shares their story.
From that experience I learned that when teachers are provided time and space to work together they are capable of anything.
The experience of working alongside the Kaleidoscope staff was the high point of my 35-year career in education. I worked in an education system that isolated teachers, didn’t trust their knowledge, and underestimated their ability to lead improvement. When I joined the staff of the Knowles Teacher Initiative as a Teacher Developer in the summer of 2016, I knew I had found my tribe—teachers, teacher-leaders, and teacher educators who were committed to improving education for all learners from inside classrooms. But it was my work with the staff and teacher-writers of Kaleidoscope that sated my deep commitment to supporting teachers to disseminate their professional knowledge and take charge of education. We developed strong relationships based on mutual trust and respect so that we could be vulnerable, open to learning, and willing to take risks together. We re-imagined the journal as entirely teacher produced and conducive to teacher leadership development, personal and professional growth, and community building through story sharing. From that experience I learned that when teachers are provided time and space to work together they are capable of anything.
– Linda Abrams, former staff mentor
I learned from being a Kaleidoscope editor that, while I enjoy writing myself, I’m at my happiest supporting others and working in community! More important, though, was my learning that teachers build, hold, and share knowledge that matters. I’m so grateful for the Kaleidoscope community and so proud of all our authors who make themselves vulnerable in order to support others through sharing their stories.
– Kirstin Milks, former co-editor-in-chief
It wasn’t really my intention to step out of the K-12 classroom, but five years ago that ended up happening. I then made the transition to being a PhD student in science education, and while I find it exciting and fulfilling, I have conflicting feelings about joining the world of research when I know that there are so many things teachers are already trying, succeeding at, and sharing within their communities. Educator voices are so often drowned out in the research world, filtered by researchers and hidden behind journal paywalls. What I love most about participating in Kaleidoscope as an associate editor is the chance to center teacher stories as a critical component of the education narrative.
– Melissa Livingston, current associate editor
When I joined the Kaleidoscope staff I did not feel qualified to be there. I did not identify as a writer and therefore could not foster writing in others; however, time and again, teacher-writers have shown up asking for support and I have encouraged, cajoled, and downright bothered them into finishing writing. Little did they know their bravery in sharing their stories encouraged me to write more, share more, and do more. Learning shoulder-to-shoulder with authors has been an invaluable experience that I am grateful for.
– Erin Oakley, current co-editor-in-chief
Starting Kaleidoscope and working with the editors of this journal absolutely confirmed my deeply held belief that all teachers can be writers and that all teachers can build knowledge about teaching and learning, especially in thoughtful and collaborative spaces. As an English teacher I had written about my practice and worked with other teachers to enhance our understanding of content, pedagogy, and students. Supporting math and science teachers to reflect on their questions, inquiries, research, and knowledge, and then share that work with others, was a highlight of my career.
– Dina Portnoy, founding staff mentor
It is with great pride that we present you with this 10th anniversary edition of Kaleidoscope. Within these articles we will showcase some of the work we have done and what we hope to do. We could not have done it without all of our editors, authors, and readers, who continue to show the power of teacher-writing when it is shared in the world. Thank you!
The Kaleidoscope editors and staff mentors, past and present
| Linda Abrams | Angela Lou | Lindsey Quinlisk | Scott Stambach |
| Rick Barlow | Kate Markiewicz | Kelsey Rasmussen | Beverly Stuckwisch |
| Katie Blaske | Kelly Melendez Loaiza | Carolyn Ross | Ginger Tang |
| Brittney Franckowiak | Jamie Melton | Roseanne Rostock | Jim Town |
| Jim Han | Kirstin Milks | Katey Shirey | Becky Van Tassell |
| Sharon Johnson | Casey O’Hara | Erin Smith | Michelle Vanhala |
| Andrew Lee | Erin Oakley | Tom Snarsky | Katie Waddle |
| Melissa Livingston | Dina Portnoy | Dwaina Sookhoo |
Citation
Oakley, E. (2025). From the editors’ desk: How far we’ve come. Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives, 11(2), https://knowlesteachers.org/resource/from-the-editors-desk-how-far-weve-come.