Aleta founded Center for Inspired Teaching in 1995 to build a better school experience for students by shifting the role of the teacher from information provider to Instigator of Thought. An Instigator of Thought teaches students how to think, not just what to think; engages students in serious play; and designs classrooms so students are engaged intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Aleta is a former professor of education at American University, specializing in authentic assessment, science and math education, and curriculum reform. In her time as a public school teacher, Aleta taught both elementary and middle school and designed and ran alternative educational programs for court-referred high school students. In 2011, Aleta helped launch the Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School to serve as a demonstration site for Inspired Teaching’s instructional model. The Demonstration School also serves as a partner site for the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, a 24-month, state accredited residency program that selects, prepares, supports, and certifies exceptional individuals for long term teaching careers in the District of Columbia. Aleta and Inspired Teaching are shifting teacher practice through multi-year partnerships with DC Public Schools to train DC teachers to implement inquiry-based instruction and create new, standards-aligned curricula. In 2001, Aleta was awarded a Fellowship from Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, in recognition of Inspired Teaching’s innovative work. Aleta received her undergraduate degree at Brown University and her MS in Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.