We are delighted to wish CES founder Deborah Meier a very happy birthday!

Among her many accomplishments, Debbie helped found the Coalition of Essential Schools and currently serves on the CES executive board. At the Coalition schools that she founded and led, Meier helped foster democratic community, giving teachers greater autonomy in the running of a school, giving parents a voice in what happens to their children in schools, and promoting intergenerational connections. She has always been a proponent of active, project-based learning, and of graduation through a series of exhibitions of high quality work.

Debbie is the author of many books and articles, including The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem and In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization. Debbie was also a frequent contributor to CES’s journal, Horace. In one of our favorite articles, Loud and Clear, Debbie thought about her decades-long collaboration with Ted Sizer. We’re happy to share it with you to help you hear one of our amazing and inspiring leaders in her own words.