Anne Heintz is a teacher and writer whom I met a couple of months ago. She is working on a musical about teachers in high-stakes testing environments, including environments in which high-stakes consequences (e.g., merit pay, tenure decisions, contract renewal, termination) are being attached to value-added model (VAM) output.

Accordingly, she is gathering stories from educational practitioners including teachers, principals, and staff, who are new to the profession as well as seasoned professionals, about their experiences working in such environments.

While it may not be the easiest sell to a producer, this topic has it all: absurdism, humor, and the pathos of seeing good people fighting for autonomy, caught in a storm of externally imposed aims.

Hence, if you have an especially good anecdote, an insider perspective, if you want to help her turn these stories into art, so that she and her creative colleagues can reach out to others and make these stories known, please send contact her directly via email at:

She is trying to get “it” as right as she can. Some of you out there may be the key!

Thank you in advance!