Ninive Calegari will deliver a delightful and heartwarming speech about how she co-founded (along with Dave Eggers) the award-winning 826 National Chapters. 826 is a literacy organization that inspires students to write and helps teachers make their dreams come true. Each of the chapters she founded she fronted by a themed store that sell all sorts of fabulous items from spy supplies to robot necessities. The stores set the tone for the serious work done inside. 30,000 students around the country now benefit from these writing workshops and activities and they and their teachers report much more joy and skill in their writing. 826 has inspired almost 40 other centers around the globe. Ninive will share the magic sauce and core values of the work, as well as funny moments. The presentation includes images, short films and can include a pop up store.

With a deep conviction that teaching and our democracy are intrinsically intertwined, Nínive will deliver a passionate appeal to see teachers as the solution, and to treat them that way. As a former classroom teacher, Nínive Calegari is struck by America’s ambivalence toward teachers: on the one hand we understand the importance of their work, and on the other, we spend great deal of energy badgering and blaming teachers, while not supporting them to do their best. Since her time in the classroom, Nínive has worked tirelessly to find solutions to create a large cultural shift in our society so teaching can become the prestigious, desirable, sustainable and financially rewarding profession it needs to be, She co-authored The New York Times bestselling Teachers Have It Easy, produced the documentary American Teacher (with Matt Damon as narrator) and founded an organization called The Teacher Salary Project, all in an effort to urgently elevate and value her beloved profession. Her speech includes slides, short films, and research.