Where We Started
The Caucus of Working Educators
Working Educators began in 2014 as the Caucus of Working Educators — a group of Philadelphia teachers within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers who believed that meaningful change in education starts with educators themselves, not administrators, not vendors, not politicians.
The caucus organized around the issues that mattered most to teachers and students: underfunded schools, inequitable testing policies, and the daily realities of teaching in classrooms where 40% of students lived below the poverty line.
Racial Justice, Testing Reform, Teacher Leadership
Our members helped launch Black Lives Matter at School Week, advocated for parents' right to opt out of high-stakes testing, and pushed for teacher voices in district policy decisions. When PBS NewsHour, The Atlantic, and the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about education activism in Philadelphia, they wrote about us.
We learned something important during those years: when educators speak with a unified voice grounded in classroom experience, people listen.
Why AI Changes Everything
In November 2022, ChatGPT arrived, and within months, every conversation in every teachers' lounge shifted. Suddenly, we were all asking the same questions: How do I know if a student wrote this? Should I use AI detection software? What do I do when the detection tool says "65% likely AI-generated"?
The vendors had answers — buy their products. The administrators had answers — follow the new policy (which often didn't exist yet). The edtech pundits had answers — embrace the future or get left behind.
What nobody seemed to have was the answer to the question teachers were actually asking:What do I do tomorrow, in my classroom, with the students in front of me?
The caucus taught us that meaningful change in education starts with educators themselves. When AI began transforming classrooms, we carried that lesson forward.
What We Cover Now
Working Educators has expanded from a local caucus to a national publication. Our focus has evolved, but our approach hasn't: ground-level reporting from inside the profession, written by people who understand the difference between a 50-minute period and a conference keynote.
AI Detection & Academic Integrity
Independent reviews of detection tools. What works, what doesn't, and how to handle the false positive problem that nobody in edtech wants to talk about.
Education Policy & AI Law
State-by-state tracking of AI education policies. What districts are mandating, what courts are deciding, and what's still a legal gray area.
Practical Classroom Strategies
Assignment redesign that works. How to use AI as a teaching tool without losing what makes learning human. The return of oral assessments and in-class writing.
Student Perspectives
What young people actually think about AI in their education. Not what adults assume they think — what they say when you actually ask.
Our Editorial Standards
Working Educators is an independent publication. We don't accept advertising from AI detection companies or educational technology vendors. Our tool reviews are based on our own testing — not vendor claims or press releases.
- We cite primary sources whenever possible
- We distinguish clearly between evidence and opinion
- We correct errors promptly and transparently
- We don't take money from the companies we cover
- We protect the identities of teachers and students who speak with us
When we recommend a tool or strategy, it's because we've seen it work in real classrooms — not because someone paid us to say so.
Contact Us
Have a story to share? A correction to report? A question we should be asking?
Get in touch with the Working Educators team →
We're especially interested in hearing from teachers working through AI challenges in their classrooms. Your experiences shape our coverage.