Deborah Meier

Deborah Meier has been a leading voice in educational reform for more than 50 years, authoring widely read books and articles that often contrast with prevailing thought. What is unique is that her ideas are grounded and often demonstrated in the public schools she helped to start and where she served as principal, using concrete examples of educational practices to illustrate her arguments. She has played many roles in education throughout her career. Starting as a substitute teacher in Chicago in the early 1960s, she then became a kindergarten and Head Start teacher, a founding principal of multiple schools, an elected school board member, a university scholar, a founder and officer for nonprofit educational reform organizations, an editorial board member of various publications, and more. In each of these roles, she advocated for democratic education, small schools, personalized and responsive practices, equity and inclusion, authentic assessments in place of high-stakes standardized tests, teacher unions, and public education. She was awarded the MacArthur “genius” Fellowship in 1987, the first K–12 educator so recognized, and has been awarded honorary degrees from many universities.