teacher leadership – racetothetopdannas

National Board Certification Process is Revised

Great news! National Board has just announced changes to the certification process that will surely entice more candidates to pursue National Board Certification. In an era of growing need for instructional leadership (teacher leaders) and master teachers, these are welcome changes to what is truly the ultimate measure of teacher competency. Perhaps we will one day have a system of accountability that doesn’t rely on student test results but rather the far more intensive and valid measure of National Board Certification. Check out the news release from NBPTS.

Teacher Leader Reflections on Covey’s 7 Habits

Last week our Teachers As Instructional Leaders Seminar Series met at the SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury Branch Campus to review Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We’re a small group of eight creative, self-directed teachers seeking strategies and understandings to grow our skills as teacher leaders and better serve their students and schools. The Covey session was not originally listed in our six-session Series, but was added at the group’s request following a brief discussion about Covey in an earlier meeting. After a quick review of the habits, we brainstormed simple examples of what the 7 Habits look like for teachers and teacher leaders. I then asked the group to look at the habits through the lens of school reform. See below for minutes of this thoughtful group. Enjoy.

Habit One: Be Proactive

A proactive teacher leader would act upon education rather than being acted upon by the educational process. We would be a driving force as part of the change because we have already identified the need for changes in our classroom/curriculum and understand those goals most clearly.
We would be the voice rising above the educational chaos and jargon, the leaders saying follow me because I know what I’m doing, and you have nothing to fear, we will achieve this together.
We would not wait for the educational standards to arrive, we would be the educational standard everyone is trying to achieve. Ahead of the changes, always on the cutting edge of the next educational opportunity for our students. We would see and realize the change even before it arrived.
Ask ourselves how we can implement the common core by working together. We need to implement them, so let’s take the initiative and make it work for everyone.
To be successful, you must be proactive. I don’t want to react to something, but rather study it, fix what needs fixing, and then go with it. Prepare for success.
The failures of my students to meet the standards are my failure. If it isn’t working, it’s due to something I did in the classroom.
Common core standards are an improvement over past standards, and a work in progress. We must figure out how to get everyone to accept and use the standards.
Using midterms and finding strengths and weaknesses for students to learn their strengths and weaknesses. Helping others see the value of such assessments. Matching up students’ predictions with the actual results.
Using KWLs so I don’t spend time on boring stuff they (students) already know or are uninterested in. I can take what they want to know and work it into the curriculum.
Ask colleagues for topics to discuss at department meetings. I am not their boss, but do organize and prioritize their interests into the agenda.
I try to think of the APPR as an opportunity to make my teaching and my classroom better. To use it for my own advantage and not something imposed on me.
Student excuses. If I take responsibility for not getting their homework graded on time, I can honestly tell them I made a mistake. I am going to model proactivity and responsibility.
School Reform: Give it a chance. Keep an open mind.
School Reform: Get the facts straight and don’t make assumptions.

Habit Two: Begin With The End In Mind

Think of the footprint of your career. What do you want said about you at the retirement dinner.
When planning, I want to anticipate where my students are going to struggle.
Thinking about what my students will need when they leave my class for middle school. Being mindful throughout the year about those needs.
At the high school level, being mindful of what students will need for career or college success.
Curriculum. What are your exit outcomes and ensuring students realize the goals. Planning a given unit. Working backwards from the major assessments.
As a teacher, thinking what you could learn to make you a better teacher for the following year. Reflective thinking.
Working with students with disabilities and determining reasonable goals during IEP prep followed by purposeful planning to close the gap in their deficits.
I don’t worry about attendance, I worry about the students in my class. I don’t worry about SLOs or the proper paperwork. I run with the good ideas when they arise.
School Reform: Look at how the reform could be a positive (the district goals).
School Reform: How do you want your school to be perceived (reputation).

Habit Three: Put First Things First

Comfortable environment for the students. No drama. No gossip. No negatives.
Meeting students where they are at and guiding them to where they need to be. We’re not going to have a half hour fight over whether they have a pencil or not.
Putting together my evidence binder. The not urgent paperwork that is important. The budget. The field trip paperwork….
Parent letters. Not urgent, but very important to send home periodically. Lowers parents’ anxiety. At elementary, letters go out regularly.
Unit planning. Getting the plans organized.
Next Generation Science Standards. Taking time to learn them in preparation for their pending arrival.
Attending professional development when available. To improve your skills—curriculum development, common core,.….
Using department meetings and common planning time to do important work.
Faculty meetings have fallen into the urgent but unimportant category. They can be a horrible waste of time. Help principals make better use of such meetings.
School Reform: Student-driven. Students must always come first. Even when an IEP says a class of two.
School Reform: Prioritize. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Make the change that’s really needed. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. Let things roll off your back.

Building Up The Emotional Bank Account

Going to outside school events to show support. Dance recitals, soccer games, science symposium, horse shows, plays, music events, concerts, art shows, fiber tour, Washington county fair, 4H events, FFA events, winter Olympics, charities
Being on time and attending all meetings with undivided attention (cell phones off)
Listening to your colleagues and your administrators and students. Listening to what’s not being said. Being aware of the nonverbal. Trying to see things on their side. Walking in their shoes. Thinking about them while driving through the neighborhood and passing their homes.
Clarify expectations. Write objectives on the board. I tell them there will be surprises such as pop quizzes.
Sticking to a routine. That stability piece gives students a sense of clarity. Model integrity.
Giving out a golden broomstick award (Witches) for students who went beyond the expectations of the classroom. Giving out stickers that work towards a party day once a month. They can play a game that is math related and a treat they select (apple cider, Christmas cookies….)
Bucket fillers. Elementary are so much better at praising students and recognizing their accomplishments.
When I make a mistake, I promptly apologize.
It’s important to say when we don’t know. It builds trust when we admit we don’t know the answer.

Habit Four: Think Win-Win

Sharing ideas with your colleagues.
When focused on decisions, make sure the decision is student-centered, not teacher-centered. It’s not personal. It’s about the students, even if it means sacrificing. It’s professional, not personal.
You should like everyone else’s idea for at least 15 minutes.
Realizing that your big ideas may negatively impact others and being aware of such impacts.
Putting yourself in other people’s shoes when making decisions.
Being with administrators or colleagues in a team (there’s no I in team).
School Reform: Work together. Parent-Teacher-Student-Administration-Community relationships. Make the school the community and the community the school.
School Reform: Offer the proper continued support for everyone involved with the reform. Professional development, time, resources, and recognition (private or public) are essential. Ensure there is follow through.

Habit Five: Seek First to Understand Then to be Understood

With students or colleagues, ask questions first. What would you do, what do you think. Then offer your ideas.
When a student is seated at their desk and not doing something, try not to take it personal but instead think how to get them back on track. Don’t assume.
Try not to be judgmental. Don’t judge a book by its cover. People have different moral compasses. Correct behaviors, not judge them.
Use the ten-second rule. You can’t respond for ten seconds.
Ask and listen.
School Reform: Think about the school’s needs. Community forums. Fully understand the purpose of reform before offering your thoughts or input.
School Reform: Fully understand what the implications would be for students, teachers, staff, community…

Habit Six: Synergy

Find the strengths of all students and exploit those strengths. It empowers them to do great work. We all have special talents which together make us more powerful as a department, school, and community. Our school and community are almost like one. This begins with our administration.
Let students know this isn’t the only way to do something. I teach math, and they need to recognize there are other solutions to a problem.
Apply for a grant with a group of people or a fellowship with a colleague. It creates great synergy.
Focus on your strengths and manage your weaknesses.
You can’t force synergy. You have to want it.
School Reform: Have every person involved. Use their strengths. Everyone has a role. Everyone owns it.

Some of Our Teacher Leader Contributors:

Nicole Dixson, Rebecca Harke, Gwynne Cosh, Nicole Fortier

Teacher Hierarchy, Leadership, and Schools

Social systems and hierarchies are part of nature, and serve their members well. Whether foraging for food, staying safe from predators, or ensuring propagation of the species, hierarchies help establish order allowing the social group to survive and flourish. Interestingly, schools also have their hierarchies, though the structure is changing rapidly with the growing influence of teacher leadership. In the old days, staff ranking could be broken down by years of experience into rookies (non-tenured), burgeoning stars (tenured), veterans (tenured and sometimes damn good), and senior veterans (tenured, sometimes extraordinary, and have “seen it all”).

For the rookie, rules were simple. Play well with others. Know your content and improve your pedagogy. Manage classroom behavior. Chaperone and make yourself visible everywhere and anywhere there are administrators, students, parents or board members. Be respectful and kind to students, parents and colleagues. If you followed the rules, odds were you’d receive tenure and enter the next level. Fail in any of those areas and there’s a good chance you’d be out of a job. Once tenured, you developed your reputation and craft. Initially, you’d continue to be the recipient of professional development services, but later, you might become the source of information–the “go to person,” the “veteran.” Along the way, your professional network would expand as would your influence within and outside the school community. With the accrual of time, you’d become the senior veteran.There are many more subtleties and complexities to teacher hierarchical structures, but suffice it to say reaching the apex of the hierarchical structure was informal but generally comfortable and reliable.

With the advent of Race to the Top’s Career Teacher Leader Ladder, pathways to the top for educators have changed dramatically and for the better. Teachers are now being asked to formally assume leadership positions within their ranks, something that in the past was discouraged in some schools. With the burden of instructional leadership too great for any one super human principal, teachers are now encouraged (and sometimes pushed) to take on new and challenging roles including conducting peer observations, facilitating data-driven instruction sessions, monitoring action plans, implementing teacher improvement plans, supervising curriculum development projects, and so on. Mind you, these things have been done in some schools for decades informally by the superstars, veterans, and senior veterans. The difference is now schools are honoring and formally recognizing teacher leadership. Finally! How exciting! How necessary! How timely!

As we brace for another interesting year of school reform, let us remember leadership goes far beyond that of the school principal. Let us be sure to honor our teacher leaders, formally or informally, by supporting their efforts and working hard to ensure their success and that of our children. Let us encourage the best among us to pick up the torch and guide us through the next round of school reform. Today we have a leveraged opportunity to nourish and grow teacher leaders in schools across the nation. We’re at a tipping point, and our children (and profession) depend on us to do the right thing. There is too much at stake to follow the old system of teacher hierarchies and do otherwise. Have a great school year. Peace.

When It Comes to School Reform, Time is Not on Our Side

In ’64, the Rolling Stones sang, “Time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is.” Well, that may have been the case in the 1960s, and it may indeed apply in Mick Jagger’s world, but alas, time is not on the side for present day educators or instructional leaders grappling with school reform. On the contrary, today’s teachers and building principals are on the wrong side of time, working feverishly to fulfill APPR requirements before finals and graduations. Compromised by a system ill-structured to handle evidence-based observations, student learning objectives, data-driven instruction protocols, and significant curricular and assessment reforms, many principals and teachers are gasping for air as they finish up the year overwhelmed, overloaded, and completely spent.

It doesn’t have to be this way. After all, it’s not a precondition for school reform that stakeholders long for the “good old days” while cursing the new conditions and perceived burdens placed on them by outsiders and higher-ups. Rather, it’s simply about making time in the school schedule for matters of importance. Time to empower staff and faculty to do the hard work the Regents Reform Agenda calls for. Time to collaboratively figure things out together to implement new curricula, data-driven instruction, student learning objectives, and evidence-based observations. Time to reflect on what is and is not working, and time to make the necessary changes to streamline the process and reduce perceived complexities. Time is the tonic that cures all.

Next year is a pivotal year for educators in New York and other Race to the Top states across the nation. With varying degrees of success, schools have received professional development in reform agenda items. Educators and principals have toiled through Common Core Instructional Shifts, Next Generation Assessments, Evidence-based Observations, Student Learning Objectives, Data-Driven Instruction, etc. However, for meaningful change and deep understanding to take place, teachers, principals, and others will need ample time to analyze and reflect on their reform efforts. Early release time, late start times, team planning meetings, full day sessions, and summer work are what is needed for reforms to get traction. The system can not function as it has in the past, and if we hope to carry forth the education reform agenda so vital to our students and country, then we had better be sure time is on our side. (We also need to encourage teacher leadership).

Leadership Voids In An Era of National School Reform

Leadership is not rocket science, but rather the science of knowing, understanding, and appreciating people to help change for the better, “How we do things around here.” Leadership is the science of empathy, creativity, accountability, flexibility, humility, levity, fidelity, and sincerity. On the topic of leaders and change, John Kotter (2002) wrote, “They succeed, regardless of the stage in the overall process, because their most central activity does not center on formal data gathering, analysis, report writing, and presentations—the sorts of actions typically aimed at changing thinking in order to change behavior. Instead, they compellingly show people what the problems are and how to resolve the problems. They provoke responses that reduce feelings that slow and stifle needed change, and they enhance feelings that motivate useful action” (p. 8).

Leadership is ofttimes lonely and fatiguing, dogged in its efforts, and always selfless by its nature. Being a leader is a hard job. Period. Ironically, the need for quality leadership within our education system has never been greater. Never is a big word, but the hyper-paced nature of our digital society and the high-stakes competition for knowledgeable, skilled workers in a flattened world is unparalleled in our history. Education demands leaders that understand the change process and the impacts of change on people and systems. We’re talking people who have high EQs. After all, change is an emotional process, and it is the leaders with emotional intelligence who are most able to help others navigate the choppy waters of school reform. As Bolman and Deal (2003) write, “Many change efforts fail not because managers’ intentions are incorrect or insincere but because the managers are unable to handle the social challenges of changing” (p. 176).

We must have educational leaders capable of filtering out the noise and clutter to get at the heart of critical issues and necessary actions. Individuals who have a keen sense of what matters most, and a self-efficacious mindset to implement the difficult changes in our schools that may run contrary to “How we do things around here.” Hell, the whole notion of “How we do things around here” no longer applies in today’s education. Race to the Top, ESEA, the Great Recession, Sequesters, Stressed Pension Systems, Increased Rigor in Teacher and Principal Certification Exams and Protocols, EdTPA, APPR, Student Testing, Online Courses, Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Standards, Instructional Shifts, Review Rooms, Dignity for All Students, etc. have changed the proverbial paradigm for good.

Peering across the regional landscape, it is worrisome to find fewer individuals willing and able to take up the once coveted torch of district leadership. Superintendent positions are not easily filled, and the ranks of interested applicants are at historic lows with some boards of education reopening searches in hopes of a better outcome. Meanwhile, the increasing burden on principals and the void of teacher leaders are problems that can and must be addressed through some form of teacher leader certification at the state and or national level. We can not expect one person to do the important work of leadership by themselves, and now is the opportune time to reform how we define leadership at the school level.

As our schools move through the final weeks towards graduation, so ends another year of school reform. Next year will bring with it new expectations for teachers and administrators which include implementing protocols for data driven instruction, embedding Common Core instructional shifts with fidelity, improving the writing of student learning objectives, and preparing students for the next round of assessments. With all that lies ahead, it’s urgent our state and national leaders think out of the box in terms of educational leadership. More rigorous, valid, and reliable certification exams are a good step forward, but so is a more concerted effort to grow leadership within the ranks of educators and to make the job of district CEO more alluring. Let’s offer certifications that recognize the value of teacher leaders, and reward district leaders with salaries commensurate to their roles and responsibilities. We can’t afford to do less if we wish to continue the reform agendas scattered across this great nation.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2003). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kotter, J. (2002). The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

A Really Great Week and The Instructional Leadership Pipeline

This was a really good work week. In fact, it was an excellent week! The kind where you find yourself singing boldly with songs on the car radio caring little if other drivers see you singing or not. A week where your energy surges late in the day, followed by a blissful crash while watching reruns of Downton Abby at night with your spouse. This week was one of those special weeks when you did things for others that really, really matter. In this case, the theme was on developing instructional leaders.

On Monday I joined a small group of other State University of New York (SUNY) professors and Deans to design and deliver professional development sessions for the Statewide Teacher Education Network (S-TEN). We spent a good days work planning one six-hour session on Data-Driven Instruction, and another session on the new Ed TPA. Much as P-12 has been scrambling to absorb changes through the Regents Reform Agenda, higher education has grappled with its own challenges, including making certain teacher and principal graduates are ready for more stringent certification assessments and prepared to successfully contribute to our schools and communities.

Monday was a good day, but Thursday did not disappoint as our New Principals Academy met for its monthly two-hour session (The New Principals Academy is a partnership project between Queensbury Central School District and SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury designed to provide professional development tailored specifically to the interests of new principals, assistant principals or other administrators). Prior topics have ranged from time management and evidence-based observations, to common core instructional shifts and the change process. On Thursday, I asked the group to identify their thoughts on the instructional leadership pipeline. More specifically, I asked them, 1) What are the best practices? 2) What are the needs, gaps? and 3) Advice to aspiring leaders to increase their skills. The ensuing discussions were lively and rich.

Some best practices and topics identified included: 1) solid, intensive internships; 2) time management; 3) networking opportunities with other instructional leaders and higher ed personnel; 4) conducting evidence-based observations; 5) the ISLLC Policy Standards; and 6) developing open lines of communication with all district stakeholders. Areas of need and gaps included: 1) more rigorous internships (a catch 22 for some as they grapple with full-time work and their ed leadership program); 2) an uncertain future (jobs, policies from State Ed, etc); 3) more real life, authentic learning experiences (implementation of CCLS, APPR, DDI,…); 4) mentoring programs; 5) requirements for rigorous research (thesis); and 6) classes that are current and evolve with the changing landscape of P-12 education. Finally, our academy participants offered the following advice to aspiring leaders: 1) step out of your comfort zones and vary your experiences and levels; 2) build relationships; 3) choose a strong prep program, not just a convenient one; 4) know yourself well–your strengths and weaknesses; 5) believe and have trust in your teachers; and 6) forgive yourself and others–everyone makes mistakes. What a fantastic day we had on Thursday!

If Monday and Thursday were good days, then Friday could be considered the icing on the cake for that was the day we officially launched Cambridge Central School District’s Teacher Leader Effectiveness (TLE) Grant. The TLE Grant Initiative was strategically designed by the New York State Education Department to, among other things, cultivate a continuum for developing teacher leaders within school districts. In Cambridge Central School District’s (CCSD) case, they wrote the grant to focus on empowering teachers to lead change (a la Race to the Top) through cognitive coaching, professional learning communities, and effective student teacher placements and mentorships. There are many outstanding components to the CCSD grant project design, including a focus on Wiggins and McTighes’ Understanding by Design, which happened to be Friday’s topic.

So on Friday, eight teacher leaders, two building principals, and the grant director convened at the SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury Branch Campus to officially launch the grant and delve into the Backward Design Process. What a day! What a group! It was evident from the start the selection of teacher leaders was done carefully and effectively. The eight individuals knew their craft and had a level of intensity and purpose that was inspiring! We discussed the three stages of Backwards Design. We reviewed the Common Core Standards and concomitant instructional shifts, and we looked at PARCC’s Model Content Frameworks. When I asked the teacher leaders why they chose to do this important work, they explained their desire to be a resource for others. To serve their communities and colleagues. To increase communication and do what’s best for their children, school, and community. They were eager for the hard work ahead, in spite of the uncertainties and time such efforts demanded. They were inspiring, and when the day ended I was left feeling very, very satisfied and hopeful for our profession.

And so went a very good work week. One which focused on the instructional leadership pipeline and change. A week that was about service to the profession, service to the community, and service to one another. A week that reminded us all that, despite the naysayers about school reform, anything is possible when you bring together a small group of talented, motivated, and passionate individuals interested in making a difference in the lives of others. Ahh, what a fine week it was, and what a way to set the table for next week’s important work.

Academically Optimistic? If Not, Why Not?

As it pertains to schools, what exactly does it mean to be “academically optimistic,” and do we have a choice whether a school is academically optimistic or pessimistic? How do student socioeconomics enter into the equation, and is it true when it comes to student achievement the proverbial apple doesn’t fall far from the tree? What about the rigors of school reform, Race to the Top, Common Core Learning Standards, and fragile school budgets? Why is there such variation in how teachers, administrators and school staff respond to these trying and unsettled times? Well, much can be attributed to the school environment–an environment greatly shaped by the building principal and a small cadre of teacher leaders.

Hoy, Tarter, and Hoy (2006) coined the term “Academic Optimism” to describe those schools that exude academic emphasis, efficacy, and trust within the halls, classrooms, and very fabric of their being. Such schools are vibrant vessels for learning where students are stretched academically and parents are valued for their role in student learning. If you’ve had the opportunity to visit different schools, you know from experience the contrast between “healthy” and “sick” ones. In the academically optimistic school, you’ll find teachers and students moving about with energy and purpose. When classes are in session, students are actively engaged in their learning as teachers guide on the side. In the faculty room, the banter is about events, student success, and programs. People are genuinely happy in their daily work. Academically optimistic schools are in stark contrast to pessimistic schools where there is much isolationism, finger-pointing at parents and administration, and a general sense of helplessness.

School environment factors are complicated, more so than the classroom environment, with many external elements impacting them. However, Hoy, Tarter, and Hoy (2006) suggest school leaders can create a more academically optimistic culture if they focus on academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and trust (p.441). Academic emphasis is cultivated by raising the bar and developing teachers’ sense of self-efficacy to positively impact students. Principals do this through modeling, providing targeted professional development, and celebrating student achievement. Collective efficacy is promoted by honoring Bandura’s (1997) antecedents of efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious learning, positive feedback, and social emotional well-being. Last but not least, developing trust in parents and students is realized through frequent interactions among the various groups. Such interactions are purposefully planned to increase the comfort levels of all and to establish those important relationships desperately needed in our schools today.

A look at the history of education in this country shows we’ve been through many periods of discomfort and uncertainty, and we’ve somehow managed to get through each era of reform and emerge stronger than before. Race to the Top, Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Assessments,….are challenging us to rethink education in this country. We’ll manage, and it will be mostly due to the strong leadership of building principals and teacher leaders who cultivate in us all a sense of academic optimism encompassing academic rigor, collective efficacy, and trust for our students, parents, and communities. Meanwhile, let’s be sure we have the leaders capable of promoting academic optimism in schools by raising the bar on principal preparation programs and developing policies that recognize and promote teacher leadership.

Hoy, W. K., Tarter, C. J., & Hoy, W. (2006). Academic optimism in schools: A force for student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 43, 425-446.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

The Powerful Message of Teacher Leadership: “Help Me, Help You”

I love the line in Jerry Maguire where Jerry (sports agent) and Rod Tidwell (football star) are in the locker room and Jerry’s imploring Rod to work with him. Jerry pleads during the emotional exchange, “Help me… help you. Help me, help you.”, and in another exchange, “I am out here for you. You don’t know what it’s like to be ME out here for YOU. It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, ok?” Great movie. Great energy. Great lessons. Great segway into the challenges of teacher leadership.

Education is an interesting business. It’s costly and doesn’t directly generate revenues. However, it indirectly dictates the trajectory of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product, unemployment rates, price of commodities, happiness, infant mortality rates, and the list goes on. Education matters. Period. Given the deep and broad impact education has on society, it’s amazing how we respond to leadership within our ranks. Outside the hierarchical leadership structure of school and central office, leadership among teachers is often silently absent and primarily informal.

We know the master teachers and quiet leaders who people seek out in times of stress. They are the folks who offer sage advice on everything from classroom management strategies and designing new curricula, to accessing resources and using data to make good decisions. However, they do their leadership work without fanfare. Lest they upset the apple cart and draw the ire of less able, less confident instructors, these quiet leaders do their work primarily in isolation.But what happens when a school decides to target teacher leaders and stipend them to do the important work of instructional leadership? Can the system accept these newly “badged” teacher leaders complete with job descriptions and title?

How do the new teacher leaders stay within the ranks of teachers while also breaking ranks to push the system forward? How do these risk-takers garner the respect and willing participation of their colleagues? Stepping out and taking on instructional leadership is not easy. Ultimately, teacher leadership success hinges on how well they get Jerry Maguire’s message out to staff. Namely, “Help me, help you.” With the urgency of Race to the Top on every educator and principal’s mind, newly minted teacher leaders have a leveraged moment to demonstrate the service they can provide colleagues. Whether wading through Student Learning Objectives, Teacher Evaluation Rubrics, or Common Core Learning Standards Instructional Shifts, teachers desperately need the leadership support of their colleagues.

Teacher leadership can and will work when school systems recognize the value in helping teacher leaders help others. By surveying teacher needs, differentiating professional development based on data, and providing time for the important work of teacher leadership, schools can indeed cultivate an environment where teacher leadership thrives. We’re not talking about making photocopies or filling out purchase orders, but about systemic changes in instruction, curriculum, assessment, and most importantly, views on instructional leadership. It’s time to redefine leadership in schools and fully utilize our greatest resources: intellectual and social capital.

Teacher Performance, Instructional Leadership, and Data Stories

This morning I read in the USA Today that doctor visits are down in the country and 66% of Americans say their health is “excellent” or “very good.” Add the additional 24% who report their health is “good” and you have 90% of the population feeling pretty satisfied about their health. Two pages later in the same paper an article on extreme obesity states the number of adults 100 pounds or more overweight has nearly doubled since 2000, and that two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese. What??? The data just don’t make sense. Something is askew. We live in a sea of data, and so much of it misconstrue the truth. Take instruction and student achievement. In a 2009 report from the New Teacher Project, 99% of teachers were deemed proficient or higher by school administrators (This will/should change dramatically through teacher and principal evaluation measures under Race to the Top), yet the 2009 Averaged Freshman Graduate Rate was 76%. If virtually all our teachers are proficient, shouldn’t the same hold for our students?

Data tell stories, and oftentimes, those stories are fictional. In terms of instructional quality, we have a talented teacher workforce misunderstood by the public. Fiscal challenges, school reform, and public vilification of educators are burdens the profession carries. Confounding all this is a dearth of instructional leadership, particularly at the high school level (hence the disconnect between teacher performance and student achievement). To be fair, we are asking principals to do the impossible. Besides conducting evidence-based teacher observations, implementing common core state standards, and managing school reform, we expect principals to manage bus schedules, monitor cafeterias, meet with parents and district office personnel, handle discipline issues, respond to community crises, manage state and local testing schedules, address cyberbullying, implement response to intervention, conduct annual professional performance reviews, and the list goes on. We’re placing superhuman expectations on our school leaders, and it’s time to rethink how we define, develop, and distribute instructional leadership.

At the risk of oversimplifying things, we need to reevaluate our instructional leadership definition. Partnerships, leader licensure, leadership preparation programs, and educator roles and responsibilities need rethinking if we hope to improve the instructional leadership within our nation’s schools. In terms of partnerships, state education departments, institutes of higher education, and school districts need to work together on increasing support for existing principals, raising the rigor and authenticity of principal preparation programs, and cultivating teacher leadership pathways. At the local, state and national levels, we must change our lens on teachers and their role as instructional leaders. We’re presently implementing major reform in the areas of curriculum, assessments, and professional evaluations, but we’ve yet to adequately transform the manner in which instructional leadership occurs.

We’re still holding on to the “Captain of the ship” model of leadership, which in this era of school reform is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. We need teacher leadership to help implement and sustain the important reforms of Race to the Top. Unfortunately, few states have gone down the teacher leadership path at the policy or licensure level. Exceptions include Tennessee’s Teacher Leader Endorsement Codes (441, 442, 443) and Ohio’s Teacher Leader Certificate/Endorsement that offer career pathways for teachers to become instructional leaders. For those individuals seeking building leader certification, licensure tests must be more rigorous and performance-based. In New York, new school building leader assessments scheduled for release in 2014 will require principal candidates to demonstrate skills in school improvement (ie. leading data inquiry teams), have clinical leadership experiences, and participate in school improvement teams tied to raising student achievement.

We have a leveraged opportunity to transform the system, and the data suggests anything is possible. If we truly value and want instructional leadership in our schools, then the system must change. Otherwise, the data stories of our schools will remain status quo.

When it Comes to Teacher Leadership, If You Build it They Will Come

I’m a baseball fan. In particular, dare I say it, I’m a Mets fan. In any case, one of my favorite movies was Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner. It was a fun baseball fantasy movie, and I saw it a long time ago. The part I remember best was the small town farmer who heard a voice telling him to build a ball field out in the cornfield, which he did. Ultimately, baseball players walked from the corn stalks and out on to the field. They were the infamous Black Sox, including one Shoeless Joe Jackson. The movie ended happily with hundreds of people driving to the farm to watch the players play. I simplify, but the point is the farmer took a risk, invested money and time into something he believed was the right thing to do, and was rewarded for his efforts. Hmmm.

So, how does this all apply to teacher leadership? I’ve been harping on the need for distributed leadership in schools for months now, and as the stakes and pressures on principals to be instructional leaders increase with school reform, it is time to empower teachers to share the burden of instructional leadership responsibilities. With that empowerment comes a commitment at the district level to compensate teacher leaders with time and money. The work is too hard and teachers too vulnerable when stepping out of the fold for districts to rely solely on a teacher’s good will and intrinsic motivation to lead others. No. What’s needed is time and financial incentives to draw our schools’ finest educators into the realm of school leadership.

I just read research by Jason Margolis and Angie Deuel (2009) on teacher leadership. Their qualitative research centered on three questions, “(1) What motivates teachers to take on leadership roles? (2) What does the official designation “teacher leader” mean to teachers? (3) What approaches and strategies do teacher leaders use to impact colleagues’ instructional practices?.” The authors found three factors that drove educators to take on leadership responsibilities: an intrinsic desire to do what’s best for the school and students (moral imperative), self-directed growth and learning, and financial compensation. The title of “Teacher Leader” held little value to the teachers when compared with moral imperative, self-directed growth, and financial compensation.

Money matters. Time to do good work matters. Teacher leadership matters. If we hope to transform schools and put the square peg in a square hole, then districts will need to rethink how instructional leadership happens in schools. In particular, district leaders must ante up with financial incentives, time, and support to encourage teachers to take on greater instructional leadership responsibilities. We know teacher leadership works, and now it’s the simple matter of allocating resources appropriately. If schools build the organizational structure and incentivize leadership, teacher leaders will come.

MARGOLIS J, DEUEL A. Teacher Leaders in Action: Motivation, Morality, and Money. Leadership & Policy In Schools [serial online]. July 2009;8(3):264-286. Available from: Education Research Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 8, 2012.