It is with great sadness that I share news of the passing of renowned education reformer Theodore R. Sizer (June 23, 1932 – October 21, 2009).

Ted began his career in education as an English and mathematics teacher in Massachusetts. By age 31, he had already earned his doctorate, published two books, and was named dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. As years went by Ted began to miss teaching, and eager to return to his work in schools, resigned as dean in 1972 and accepted a position as headmaster of Phillips Academy—an historically all-boys school that became co-educational under his leadership.

After nine years immersed in the life of secondary school, Ted returned to higher education as a professor at Brown University, where he founded and directed two organizations that would enable him to widen his sphere of influence and translate his research and ideas about school reform into practice: the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the Coalition of Essential Schools.

It is in reading about coalition schools that I first learned about Ted Sizer, and was completely taken with his philosophy of education. (I highly recommend three of his most famous books: Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School,  Horace’s School: Redesigning the American High School, and Horace’s Hope: What Works for the American High School.)

The coalition has at its core nine common principles around which 600 schools have already been built to date. These principles, elegant and powerful in their simplicity, continue to inspire the transformation of schools into personalized, engaging, and challenging places of learning where children are taught to use their minds well and realize their true potential.

In 2003, in response to state and federal policy agendas that ran counter to their beliefs about democratic schooling, Ted Sizer, his wife Nancy, and Deborah Meier founded the Forum for Education and Democracy which continues to act as a bridge between progressive education reform goals and policy debates in Washington.

Esteemed scholar and professor Howard Gardner (most famous for his theory of Multiple Intelligences) had this to say about Ted Sizer:

He was an incredible connector. He knew everybody, was on good terms with people, and helped the career development of many people. There were hundreds of thousands of people who went through his shop. He had a human influence on many people.

From a personal perspective, I had the privilege of enrolling in a graduate course taught by Ted and his wife Nancy nine years ago. Each week I looked forward to attending their class because I knew Ted would challenge us to think deeply and carefully about high schools and the students who populate them, while sharing his own wisdom and insights gleaned from decades of experience. I remember him being a very thoughtful and patient listener with a profound respect for teachers and an unshakeable belief in children and in their potential.

I truly feel honored to have been one of Ted Sizer’s students. He will be greatly missed.

(Photo courtesy of Corey Leopold’s photostream/Creative Commons)