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This resource discusses the different characteristics of a teacher leader. It mentions that teacher leaders are not just people who are union reps, data team leaders, and committee chairs, but are people who seek feedback and are lifelong learners. In addition, a teacher leader is someone who takes risks and values the importance of relationships. It describes what each of these characteristics means as a teacher with examples. The end of the blog discusses ways that administration can support teacher leaders such as encouraging teachers to try new things and provide teachers with challenges to foster teacher leadership skills.

I chose this resource because I agree that many people think of teacher leaders only as those that have a leadership label in their building. I think it is important to recognize characteristics in teachers that make them leaders as we discussed in class.

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When thinking about teacher leaders, who comes to mind? Union reps? Data team leaders? Committee chairs? Leadership is about more than labels. There are countless individuals in classrooms around the world who do not fit into any of these categories, but are creating impactful change in their school communities. What does it really mean to be a teacher leader? A teacher leader is someone who seeks feedback, is a lifelong learner, understands the importance of relationships, and is willing to take risks.

Teacher Leaders Seek Feedback

Teacher leaders are reflective educators who recognize feedback as essential to their growth and development. Instead of waiting, teacher leaders actively seek feedback related to lessons, situations that are occurring, and new ideas. When I am looking for feedback, I rely on three different sources: social media, my colleagues, and my administrators.

1. Social media: Sometimes when looking for feedback, I am interested in the ideas and experiences of people outside of my school building. As a teacher who has spent my whole teaching career in the same building, I appreciate hearing ideas from others. When this happens, I sharing an idea or something I have tried on social media and ask questions so that I will receive feedback that will help push my thinking. Using social media can be a powerful tool to gather feedback from educators all over the world!

2. Colleagues: Sharing ideas with colleagues at my school is very beneficial because unlike feedback from social media, my colleagues understand my school context and take into consideration as they are giving feedback. They are people that I can talk to continuously throughout my thought process due to their proximity.

3. Administration: Seeking feedback from my administrators has helped me because in addition to understanding my school context, they also have seen practices in other classrooms throughout the building, have their own teaching experiences, and have a big picture view that can help me further reflect on my plans and ideas.

Teacher leaders... are lifelong learners

Teacher leaders know that learning is not just for students in classrooms. Teachers are learners too! Being a lifelong learner is a key characteristic of teacher leadership because it means recognizing there is always more to learn, even on topics you are very familiar. Learning for teacher leaders extends beyond the professional learning opportunities that are provided through school and districts. Being a lifelong learner means seeking opportunities to learn more about topics that you know a lot about and seeking out opportunities to learn more about topics that you don't know about. This includes attending conferences, participating in webinars, joining education communities on social media, or reading a book.

Educators like LaNesha Tabb @Apron_Education, and FFT Fellow Liz Kleinrock @TeachAndTransform, exemplify true teacher leadership. Learning from their work over the years has taught me so much. I also enjoy attending the National Association for Multicultural Education conference, the Ron Clark Academy Educator Training, and the Get Your Teach On National conference. Beyond the opportunity to learn from amazing presenters, I really appreciate getting to network with educators from around the world at these conferences.

Teacher leaders...understand that relationships matter

We hear the phrase "relationships matter" when it comes to teachers working with students and their families but teacher leaders also value their relationships with colleagues. This doesn't mean being best friends with everyone in their building, but it does mean recognizing the power of collaboration. There is a song by the artists Fabulous and Ne-Yo that says "I'm a movement by myself, but I'm a force when we're together." Teacher leadership means understanding that although an individual teacher leader can do amazing things, when they take the opportunity to bounce ideas off of others, collaborate with others, and get feedback from others even greater change is possible.

My experiences with Fund for Teachers is a great example. One of my colleagues and I received a Fund for Teachers fellowship to travel to South Africa for over two weeks. Upon return, we created a social justice library for our school and engaged our colleagues in conversations about incorporating social justice and activism topics into their lessons.

Teacher leaders.... are innovative and risk takers

An important characteristic of teacher leaders is the willingness to try new things. Teacher leaders are not only innovative and creative but also risk takers. Taking risks can be an intimidating process but a teacher leader knows that things will not be perfect and that is okay. Teacher leaders are willing to make mistakes and most importantly, to learn from those mistakes.

Being creative and trying new things is one of my favorite things about teacher leadership because it turns thoughts and what ifs? into action. [For Women's History Month and Black History Month, Tracey-Anne dresses as individuals she wants her students to remember and emulate in some way.]

Fostering Growth and Development of Teacher Leaders

Administrators can support teachers in ways that will help them continue to grow as leaders. What does it look like to support and foster teacher leadership? Administrators can start by listening. Innovative teachers are likely to stop and say " Do you have a moment for me to run an idea past you? " They are going to come up with new ideas and creative solutions for problems that can be a great asset to the school community. Taking the time to listen to these ideas shows that the voices of teacher leaders are valued and develops an atmosphere where leaders can feel more comfortable dreaming big and voicing their ideas!

Administrators can also encourage teachers to try new things. Teacher leaders are risk takers and lifelong learners but feeling that they are supported in their risk taking can make a huge difference, especially for those new to leadership. Encouraging teacher leaders to attend a workshop, suggesting a book for them to read, or even encouraging them to implement something new in their classroom or school community shows teacher leaders once again that they are valued as leaders.

Finally, to foster teacher leadership skills, administrators should provide teacher leaders with a level of challenge. When a teacher comes to their administrator with an idea, instead of automatically saying yes, the administrator should ask questions that challenge them and push them to think more deeply about their idea. This type of feedback is exactly what teacher leaders need to continue growing.

To my fellow teacher leaders...

Thank you for your creativity, innovation, and inspiration. Your passion and efforts continue to make a difference for students. As you continue to embark on this journey, please take care of yourself along the way. Remember that it is okay to delegate, it is okay to ask for help, and it is even okay to say no! To be the best that we can be, we need to reset and recharge regularly. As you speak up for your students and your school community, remember to speak up for yourself as well.

Tracey-Ann Lafayette is a third grade teacher in East Hartford, CT, who is passionate about teaching her students about speaking up for injustices in their community, the nation, and the world. She is a co-founder of two organizations (collegiate and professional) that focus on supporting pre-service teachers and educators of color across the state. Follow her on and read more about her fellowship .

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Fellow Voices: What is Teacher Leadership? with Tracey-Ann Lafayette - Blog

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When thinking about teacher leaders, who comes to mind? Union reps? Data team leaders? Committee chairs? Leadership is about more than labels. There are countless individuals in classrooms around the world who do not fit into any of these categories, but are creating impactful change in their school communities.

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NEA, National Education Association, wrote a piece on teacher leadership in all career phases. Like my first resource, this one also discusses how teacher leadership is not necessarily an assigned role, but a sense of values and characteristics that a teacher leader needs to have to make an impact on their school. Some of the teacher leadership roles mentioned are advocate for school and needs of students, cooperating teacher, mentor, coach, community organizer, ect.
Teacher leadership is vital for improving school culture and student outcomes.

I chose this resource because I appreciated all of the different examples of teacher leaders in a school. I think it is important to see all of the different roles teachers can play at any point in their career path.

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Teacher leadership is at the heart of transformation in any school. Teachers create the norms of practice, character of communication, and sense of values that form the culture of a school. Empowerment for teacher leadership is not an act of assigning roles or conferring authority, but is rather a state of mind - teacher leaders embrace greater responsibility for the culture and work of their school and profession.

Teacher leaders are champions for social justice - through professional development for culturally responsive teaching, as advocates and activists for the needs of students and communities, and as leaders of their professional union in fulfilling its vision for public schools and for the success of each student. Teacher leaders seek to solve problems; they initiate actions, and are enthusiastic adopters of positive change, thus encouraging colleagues to join the effort. They push their profession, communities, and PreK-12 schools towards excellence.

Teacher leadership provides a highly motivational career path so that individuals can continue to pursue their passion for working with students while expanding their influence and engaging in new professional challenges.
For a school to achieve the vision for performance requires a significant cadre of professional and accomplished teachers who have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to fulfill varied teacher leadership responsibilities.
Teachers - throughout all phases, but particularly in professional and accomplished career phases - are frequently engaged in professional learning to develop their leadership skills.

Some of the roles for which teacher leaders will be in high demand include:

Advocate for schools and for the needs of students

Leader of professional association/union

Cooperating teacher, clinical supervisor, mentor, coach, peer assistant, peer reviewer

Instructional designer, assessment designer, curriculum planner

Action researcher, data analyst

Spokesperson, author

Facilitator of building PLCs, committees, study groups

Facilitator of district and school-community committees, task forces, projects

Professional development facilitator, adjunct instructor

Community organizer

Member of professional standards board, teacher advisory council, etc.

Program evaluator, accreditation team member, etc.

Policy analyst, policymaker

In some instances, teacher leader roles are part of hybrid job assignments, or embedded in or in addition to a traditional assignment.
On occasion, a teacher may take on a leadership role for an extended time with full-time release from traditional teaching duties. In any case, teacher leadership is not seen as a pathway out of the classroom, but an enhancement to the work of teaching and learning.
Teacher leaders are engaged in continuous professional growth that includes increasing their skills and expanding their capacity for action.
Schools, districts, and teacher unions intentionally foster development of teacher leaders and seek to identify individuals with leadership potential.
The teacher leader embodies a humility and passion that transcends and mitigates resentment among peers.
Teacher leaders build organizational commitment and instill a belief that the leader genuinely cares for the well-being and success of students and colleagues. The caring and compassion of teacher leaders is crucial to their ability to help colleagues and communities engage in deep discussions about culture, social justice, culturally responsive teaching, and positive discipline in the classroom. They are able to facilitate growth as they model personal reflection and growth.
School and district administrators foster teacher leadership by offering a culture where new ideas are welcomed, individual initiative is seen as an asset, and the talents of others are valued.
Schools and districts recognize the power of distributed leadership with both formal as well as informal roles and opportunities for teachers to lead. Teacher leaders and administrators in both formal and informal roles recognize the power and synergy that arises from a spirit of genuine collaboration - a culture in which the contribution of each person is valued and respected.

Teacher leaders create and promote opportunities for new leaders to develop and serve, particularly encouraging and mentoring diverse peers within the school, community, and union.

They systematically support the growth of other leaders to add to the strength of the organization and eventually, to take on responsibilities as they move on to other duties.

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Our experts share their vision for teacher leaders, and the supports and actions required for them to succeed and grow throughout their careers.

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The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) aims to improve educator effectiveness and student outcomes by providing comprehensive support and resources for teacher and school leader development. Their approach includes instructional excellence, collaborative learning, continuous improvement, and collective leadership.

I chose this resource because it provides many resources including instructional tools, planning and guidance, and webinars and modules. I think this resource connects well with what we have discussed in class regarding the importance of teacher leaders and their lasting impact on their students.

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Knowing that teacher quality is the single biggest in-school factor for school success, our work focuses on educator effectiveness and is grounded in proven principles that lead to school improvement. Our approach builds off 20 years of experience to target the key components that make our partnerships successful. We start by working with you to identify your biggest needs and priorities, and then tailor our support accordingly.

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National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

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Knowing that teacher quality is the single biggest in-school factor for school success, our work focuses on educator effectiveness and is grounded in proven principles that lead to school improvement. Our approach builds off 20 years of experience to target the key components that make our partnerships successful.

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This resource names and summarizes ten roles for teacher leaders. The roles listed are resource provider, instructional specialist, curriculum specialist, classroom supporter, learning facilitator, mentor, school leader, data coach, catalyst for change, and learner. The article describes each role and why they are important. Each role contributes to the improvement of the school and student learning. The roles vary from formal roles with designated responsibilities to roles that teachers can fill based on their talents and interests.

I chose this resource because it paired well with the article we read for class, Teacher Leadership Roles In/Out of the Classroom.

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The ways teachers can lead are as varied as teachers themselves.

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This website provides a teacher leadership self assessment and readiness tool. This tool helps teachers evaluate their readiness for leadership roles across domains such as collaboration and communication, professional learning and growth, instructional leadership, and school and community advocacy. District and school leaders can assess their systems' readiness to support teacher leadership, focusing on culture, roles, and structures.

I chose this resource so teachers can take the self-assessment to determine if they are ready to be a teacher leader and take on all of the components of that role.

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Teachers: are you exploring teacher leadership opportunities? State, district and school leaders: are you considering how to use teacher leadership initiatives to promote local improvement, or as part of your ESSA plan? Our new suite of teacher leadership self-assessment and readiness tools can help. Developed in collaboration and consultation with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest Educator Effectiveness Research Alliance, REL Midwest, and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, the tools are based on a review of the teacher leadership literature and stakeholder input. Educators can use these tools on their own, or with colleagues.

Teacher Leadership: Teacher Self-Assessment Tool
Teachers, working on their own or with others, can use this tool to assess their level of readiness for being a teacher leader and develop a plan to prepare themselves for leadership positions. The tool is organized into four domains: collaboration and communication, professional learning and growth, instructional leadership, and school and community advocacy. Within each domain, teachers can explore foundational and advanced competencies based on their current level experience in leadership roles. Need a version you can type directly into? Download a Microsoft Word version of the tool.

Teacher Leadership: District and School Leader Readiness Tool

District and school administrators, working on their own or with colleagues, can use this tool to gauge the extent to which their school systems have the necessary conditions in place to support teacher leadership. After completing the tool, users can generate a list of areas for improvement, resources needed, and next steps to better prepare to support and foster effective teacher leadership. The tool is organized into three domains: culture and context, roles and responsibilities, and systems and structures. Need a aversion you can type directly into? Download a Microsoft Word version of the tool.

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Center on Great Teachers & Leaders - at American Institutes for Research

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The GTL Center is dedicated to advancing state efforts to grow, respect, and retain great teachers and leaders for all students. Our mission is to foster the capacity of vibrant networks of practitioners, researchers, innovators, and experts to build and sustain a seamless system of support for great teachers and leaders for every school in every state in the nation.