Sizer, Theodore R. (1932–)

Theodore R. (Ted) Sizer has significantly influenced the way in which educators have thought about schooling in general, and the structure of schools in particular. His work led to educational reforms in secondary education that have caused policymakers and classroom practitioners to rethink how schools should be programmatically designed and how teachers should engage students in the learning process.

Sizer was born on June 23, 1932, in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was a faculty member at Yale University. Sizer earned his B.A. degree at Yale and his doctorate from Harvard University. He was recruited into the Army as a training officer and teacher. By the age of 31, he was a full-time faculty member at Harvard, had written two books, and had become the dean of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. After resigning from Harvard, he became the headmaster of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from 1972 to 1981. In 1983, he accepted a teaching position at Brown University and remained there until 1997. After retiring from Brown, he designed the Francis W. Parker Essential School and took a 1-year position as co-principal with his wife, Nancy Sizer. Ted Sizer is a University Professor Emeritus at Brown University and was awarded Brown University's highest award in 1996, the President's Award.

A leader in the high school educational reform movement in the United States, Sizer founded the Coalition of Essential Schools in 1984 and is currently serving as chair emeritus. Three of his books, Horace's Compromise (1985), Horace's School (1992), and Horace's Hope (1996), explore the fundamental components of the Essential School reform effort. Sizer's latest book is The Red Pencil, published in 2004. Sizer's mission has always been to put his research work into real-world application. In 1993, he became the Founding Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.

Although he has been engaged in numerous reform efforts, Sizer's work with the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) has been a hallmark of his career. Starting with a dozen schools in 1984, the Coalition now has almost 600 formal members. In the beginning, CES was headquartered at Brown University. As the movement gained momentum, regional centers were created to coordinate the reforms, coach teachers and administrators, and evaluate schools for membership. The activities of these decentralized centers are now coordinated from Oakland, California. Through a grant from the Gates Foundation, the Coalition is now engaged in a 5-year initiative to document the work of the organization and create a “Mentor Schools Guide.” The Coalition's work has had a widespread impact on the school improvement movement in the past 20 years. Such reform phrases as “critical friends,” “school coaches,” “student exhibitioner learning,” and “teacher as coach” have become key components of school reform efforts throughout the country.

Ted Sizer has always opposed the top-down reform model. His work with the Coalition and other reform initiatives was founded on his belief that schools must be active partners in any reform effort. He rejected the new-and-improved-model approach and embraced the concept that key ideas/principles needed to be employed within schools in ways that made sense to the local community. Like John Dewey, Sizer has insisted on the give-and-take dialogue between teachers and students, rather than the traditional lecture. He saw teaching as coaching. He particularly wanted the bureaucratized, comprehensive high schools replaced by smaller institutions where personalization, student as worker, and demonstration of mastery were [Page 831]common principles within the schools. Not all of Sizer's recommendations have been universally accepted by educators. His skepticism of sports and extracurricular activities within the high school structure and his objection to numerous elective courses within the high school curriculum did not endear him to many educators and parents.

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