An Interview with Heidi Mills and Tim O’Keefe, NCTE’s 2014 Outstanding Educators of the Year

This article is distilled from an interview with Heidi Mills and Tim O’Keefe, recipients of NCTE’s 2014 Outstanding Educators of the Year award. In the interview, Heidi and Tim reflect deeply on their beliefs about teaching, learning, and relevant theory, and they describe how they put those into practice in collaboration with others at the Center for Inquiry, a K–5 university–public partnership in Columbia, South Carolina. Their work has inspired pre- and inservice teachers, literacy coaches, friends, colleagues, children, and families, and has enriched the fields of teacher education, education, and literacy.