PORTSMOUTH, NH – March 20, 2024

Heinemann today announced that it will publish the latest professional book for teachers from award-winning author and speaker José Luis Vilson. The project, called You Already Know: Teaching Students Math from The Knowledge Within, is tentatively scheduled for publication in Spring 2025.

Vilson is the co-founder and executive director of EduColor, an organization dedicated to race and social justice issues in education. He is the author of This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and the Future of Education and a veteran educator, having spent 15 years teaching middle school math in New York City. Vilson holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in mathematics education from City College of New York and a master’s degree in philosophy from Teachers’ College, Columbia University, where he is currently a doctoral candidate studying sociology and education with a policy concentration.

You Already Know will help teachers translate seemingly abstract and intangible math concepts into concrete understandings for their students by creating intrinsically motivated, self-monitoring learners who work in community with others. The book will illustrate how teaching math and other content areas based on what students already know can have positive effects on math achievement, and can also increase societal understanding about the process of learning.

“We have long admired José’s work and insight on topics across education, math and equity,” said Maggie DeMont, general manager of Heinemann. “We are delighted to bring his voice and thought leadership to Heinemann to offer teachers practical ways to help students build on their existing knowledge as they continue to develop math reasoning and fluency.”

José Luis Vilson is a veteran educator who started his career in middle school in the Inwood / Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, NY teaching students math. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in mathematics education from the City College of New York, and a master's degree in philosophy from Teachers' College, Columbia University. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Teachers' College, Columbia University studying sociology and education with a policy concentration. He’s also a committed writer, activist, web designer, and father. He is the co-founder and executive director of EduColor, an organization dedicated to race and social justice issues in education.

His first solo project, This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and the Future of Education, was published by Haymarket Books in the Spring of 2014. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and a Math for America Master Teacher. He currently serves on the board of directors for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and PowerMyLearning.

He has served as a board member on the Board of Directors for the Center for Teaching Quality and the president emeritus and co-founder of the Latino Alumni Network of Syracuse University. He has written for Edutopia, Progressive Magazine, The New York Times, CNN.com, Education Week, Huffington Post, and El Diario / La Prensa NY. He has also been featured at PBS, Vox, Mashable, Idealist, Chalkbeat NY, TakePart, Mother Jones, Manhattan Times, and the Fusion.

He co-authored the book Teaching 2030: What We Must Do For Our Students and Public Schools … Now and In The Future with Dr. Barnett Berry and 11 other accomplished teachers, and profiled in two other books: Teacherpreneurs (Berry, Byrd, Weider; 2013) and Teaching with Heart (Scribner, Intrator; 2014).

He was named one of GOOD Inc.’s GOOD100 in 2013 of leaders changing their worlds and an Aspen Ideas Scholar in 2013. He has also spoken at TEDxNYED, Education Writers Association Annual Conference, Netroots Nation, The US Department of Education, the Save Our Schools March, and was the first classroom teacher to give the Iris M. Carl Equity Address at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference in 2019. His blog, TheJoseVilson.com, was named one of the top 25 Education Blogs by Scholastic, Education World, and University of Southern California Rossier School of Education’s Teach 100. For more information, please visit https://thejosevilson.com/.