How can we best support schools that are facing the immediate demands of COVID-19, while still navigating some of the toughest challenges in education? This is the question that motivated Teachers College alumna Caroline Cooper (English MA, ’14) to team up with veteran New York City DOE principal Anthony Pirro and form Ember to Spark, a new educational consulting company. 

“We believe every educator has an initial spark that drives and sustains them in this profession,” Cooper said. “But burnout is a real threat in a field that sees a tremendous number of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years. We reignite that spark for this crucial work.” The company targets struggling schools that might already be facing closure, and for which the pandemic has been especially painful. 

A majority of the Ember to Spark team has Teachers College affiliations, either as graduates or current graduate students. A former lead coach with Teachers College’s own Center for the Professional Education of Teachers, Cooper credits the Center for helping her to find innovative, data-informed supports to teachers and schools. Pirro, her partner in the venture, is the former assistant principal at PS 503 and, later, principal at PS 54. Both Brooklyn schools were considered high-needs schools, and both became schools in good standing under his guidance. “For us to make the greatest impact, we need to work where there is the greatest need. That’s been my own focus as an educator, and it’s helped drive the vision and mission for Ember to Spark,” Pirro said.

The company’s first project, supporting the Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District in Frankfort, New York, offers the opportunity to work closely with a school under TSI designation that is seeking support in virtually every aspect of its program. “We are thrilled to get underway in New York State,” Cooper said. “But we see no reason to limit ourselves and look forward to extending our supports to schools across the country.” The team is developing additional relationships with schools in Louisiana and California. “It’s clear to us that the work we are doing in New York applies across the country. The need to support educators, students, and families is greater than ever, and we are here to be of service,” Pirro said.