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School Districts Turn to Teachers to Lead /Rising demand push principals to tap teacher talent. By Denisa R. Superville

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School Districts Turn to Teachers to Lead /Rising demand push principals to tap teacher talent. By Denisa R. Superville

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Denis R. Superville's article in Education Week published in 2015 celebrates the success of teacher-leader practices of Liberty Middle School in Camas, WA. Liberty's Principal states that she realized she needed help managing the school's needs, in turn, causing her to look within.  The article continues to give a timeline of the teacher-leader programs such as the Teach-to-Lead Initiative, Teacher-Leadership Innovation, and the Teacher Incentive Fund grant. In the beginning stages of the concept of teacher-leaders, there appeared to be more support for teachers to become principles. Further stating that the "roles must be clearly defined to fit the school's and district's needs, leaders go through a rigorous selection process, who have displayed stellar leadership skills and are superior teachers," and "be able to receive a stipend or other compensation." Connecting to our reading and class discussions, all educators can be a teacher-leader to remove some of the tasks of the principles — references to the various initiatives and programs added value to the article.

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Rising demands push principals to tap teacher talent

Marilyn Boerke, the principal of Liberty Middle School in Camas, Wash., a district of 6,400 students along the Columbia River, applauds the district's philosophy that encourages teachers to serve in school leadership roles and actively creates opportunities for them to do so.

Teachers are being recruited by the district-and many are stepping up-to run professional-development sessions, coach their peers, and help adapt curriculum to the common-core standards.

"We were dying on the vine as building administrators trying to manage everything that we needed to manage," said Ms. Boerke, who has been a principal for nine years.

As principals' responsibilities continue to grow, Camas and other like-minded districts are tapping their teacher corps to create meaningful leadership roles that are meant to address a number of pressing issues in public schools: reduce stress on building administrators, improve teaching and learning, and help retain new and veteran educators.

The teacher-leadership concept is not entirely new: In a sense, teachers have been leading for as long as they have been teaching. But the movement was infused with new vigor last year with the announcement of the Teach-to-Lead Initiative, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Education and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The nation's two largest teachers' unions and the associations representing principals and administrators have also signed on to the program, which is aimed at training and guiding teachers to take on leadership roles in both policy and practice.

Even before that most recent boost, many districts and states-including Camas in Washington state and the state of Tennessee-have been tapping the expertise of their most effective teachers to help roll out major policy initiatives such as the common standards and new teacher-evaluation systems.

Clearly Defined Roles

The arguments for expanding teacher-leadership opportunities are many, but boil down to this: Principals simply cannot be expected to do the job alone. Advocates say that developing a competent back bench of teacher-leaders may help stem high principal-turnover rates-studies show that 50 percent of principals leave their schools after three years-and increase retention for both new and veteran teachers.

"Effective principals understand that they need to tap into the talents of their most effective teachers to make sure that they have the largest impact on student achievement," said Lindsay Sobel, the executive director of Teach Plus Massachusetts, a chapter of the national organization that trains teacher-leaders to work in challenging urban schools, including in Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Memphis, Tenn. The group's signature T3 initiative prepares teacher-leaders to work in turnaround schools. "When that's done in a very thoughtful and structured way, that's when you see the real change. It's not just a matter of principals delegating, but [a matter] of a real, thoughtful implementation of teacher leadership."

Groups that are focused on preparing teacher-leaders say the roles must be clearly defined and fit the school's and district's needs. Leaders should go through a rigorous selection process and should be those who have displayed stellar leadership skills and are superior teachers. They should have access to professional development and training in areas that include leading and working with adult leaders, curriculum, and communication. They should receive a stipend or other compensation as recognition of the role's importance to the school.

The intentional development of teacher-leadership roles is still nascent in the United States when compared with England. There, teachers know from the first day on the job the leadership roles they can assume and the training-education, professional development, and practical experiences-that they need to get there, according to Jonathan A. Supovitz, the director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, in his recent paper, "Building a Lattice for School Leadership," which compares leadership development in the United States and England.

Some districts have been actively working to fix the deficiency that Mr. Supovitz identified. Boston and the District of Columbia, for example, have built career ladders into their teachers' union contracts and provide additional compensation for each step.

'Transparent and Inclusive'

Through Leadership Initiative For Teachers, or LIFT, teachers in the District of Columbia's system can move to "advanced," "distinguished," and "expert" teachers, earning more money along the way and qualifying to serve in greater leadership capacities. An advanced teacher can serve as an ambassador who helps with teacher recruitment and selection, for example, while a distinguished teacher can apply for a number of prestigious fellowships, including one that allows select educators to work on K-12 policy issues and another for high-performing secondary mathematics teachers.

In 2013, the district also created Teacher-Leadership Innovation, or TLI, a hybrid teacher-leadership position that allows teachers to spend up to half their time in the classroom and half serving in a leadership role. Some coach and mentor other teachers, lead new approaches to teaching writing, or develop positive behavior incentive programs.

The TLI fellows receive a $2,500 annual stipend, which is paid for in part through the federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant, a competitive-grant program to promote teaching initiatives in poor communities.

Scott Thompson, the deputy chief of human capital for teacher effectiveness the District of Columbia system, said the program has had a positive impact on principals and on improving school culture.

"What we see is that when teachers are included in decisionmaking processes, when they are included as leaders, the broader set of teachers in the school feel like the decisionmaking is more transparent and inclusive," Mr. Thompson said. "They feel valued, they are more likely to feel that the school is a place where the principals care about teachers [and] listen to their voices."

In Marion County, Fla., individual principals examine their schools' needs and try to match those needs with their teachers' strengths.

Jayne Ellspermann, the principal of West Port High School in Marion County and the 2015 National Principal of the Year, actively invites talented teachers to shoulder additional responsibilities outside the classroom, based on their expertise, interests, and career goals. Fourteen of Ms. Ellspermann's former teachers have gone on to become principals.

One, Benjamin Whitehouse, who Ms. Ellspermann hired as a world history teacher in his first year out of graduate school, is now principal of the district's North Marion High School.

After learning that Mr. Whitehouse was interested in administration, Ms. Ellspermann helped him try out different hats-from club adviser, to testing coordinator, athletic coach, and eventually assistant principal in charge of discipline.

"It was much easier for me stepping into my first year [as a full-fledged principal] because I had done pretty much every job there was to do in high school at that point," Mr. Whitehouse said.

Not Just a Steppingstone

While some see the teacher-leadership roles as a steppingstone for future principals, others see them as inherently important roles that should exist at every school and that are critical to building strong, successful schools.

In the Camas district, for example, administrators leaned on teacher-leaders to draft the district's template for writing and measuring student-growth goals, which are required under Washington state's teacher-evaluation system. Without the teacher-leaders, the task would have fallen on principals, who were already juggling a host of other duties, said Ms. Boerke, the principal of Camas' Liberty Middle School.

There was also another positive outcome from using teacher-leaders: The resulting model was accepted by teachers because they had devised the framework, the time frame for evaluation, and the tools of evidence that would be used, she said.

Ms. Boerke said teachers can also lead professional development in ways that administrators cannot. By relying more on the expertise of their teachers, Ms. Boerke said she has additional time to observe what is happening in the classrooms.

"Now I can go in and see what the teachers are doing, knowing very well what their growth goals are," Ms. Boerke said. "And I can give them just-in-time feedback on maybe tweaking an assessment or asking a question in a different way to get to what I know their learning goal is."

"I just love my work again," Ms. Boerke said. "If we want to retain principals, this is what we need to do-it's share the workload, share the responsibility for teaching and learning. ... When those test scores come out, I feel like I have a team, that we can work through what went well, what didn't go well, as opposed to me seeing it all by myself. More brains are better than one. Anytime you collaborate with like-minded people, amazing things can happen."

Published in Print: January 21, 2015, as Districts Turn to Teachers to Lead

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School Districts Turn to Teachers to Lead

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Marilyn Boerke, the principal of Liberty Middle School in Camas, Wash., a district of 6,400 students along the Columbia River, applauds the district's philosophy that encourages teachers to serve in school leadership roles and actively creates opportunities for them to do so.

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Key Characteristics of Teacher Leaders in Schools  By Angela Lumpkin, Heather Claxton, and Amanda Wilson

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Key Characteristics of Teacher Leaders in Schools  By Angela Lumpkin, Heather Claxton, and Amanda Wilson

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This published paper from the Administrative Issues Journal uses several resources, including Katzenmeyer and Moller, to define Key Characteristics of Teacher Leaders in School. The three authors discuss through a focus on student learning, teacher-leaders use empowerment, relationships, and collaboration to enhance school change. Examples are given in the four areas to develop an understanding of the authors’ support of the regions. Many of the traits of teacher-learners that have been listed in class are listed in this paper. The authors have provided an extensive reference section to further the readers’ understanding.

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THE 10 SCHOOL LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE By Lee Watanabe-Crockett

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THE 10 SCHOOL LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE By Lee Watanabe-Crockett

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This website, Wabisabi Learning, appears to be an educational reporting program for portfolios. An article on the website's blog lists ten of leadership best practices. Although there seems a reference section is not present for this blog or a bio of the author, Lee Watanabe-Crockett, the practices listed refer to several of the best practices that have been discussed in class and the readings. The blog does state that it is their opinion. Methods listed are attending activities, be accessible, be poised, be positive, formulate a vision, communicate effectively, never stop learning, be forthright, train future leaders, and listen.

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If there's one thing that anyone in any position of authority must be willing to provide in order to inspire action and achievement, it's leadership. So what about our schools and the teachers and admins who guide their policies? What could we consider to be the most crucial school leadership best practices to follow for making any school successful?

Of course it would help to first define what a "successful" school looks like. Likely it would mean different things to different educators, but here's one vision for you to consider.

A successful school places a priority on future-focused learning, and seeks to guide its staff and students toward having a passion for learning, and for growing creatively and collaboratively. Additionally, a successful school seeks to model and encourage school leadership best practices as something that doesn't just fall to administrators to handle.

In other words, a successful school realizes that true leadership is the business of everyone under its roof-teachers, admins, and students alike working together to make their school exceptional.

Leaders Light the Way

It is more often than not a school's administrators who lead the way, and the truth is students and teachers perform better when directed by high-quality leaders.

Part of being a good leader is being visible. Principals and other leaders shouldn't be visible only to students or teachers who have done something wrong. They must inspire as many students and teachers as they can. Leaders should also demonstrate their concern for student and teacher achievement in many ways. They can't expect students and teachers to care about their performance if they don't show that they care.

How important are school leadership best practices to performance? Very, according to many studies of leadership and education. "Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among school-related factors that affect student learning in school," reports "The School Principal As Leader: Guiding Schools To Better Teaching And Learning," a 28-page report by the Wallace Foundation, a philanthropic educational organization.

"Today, improving school leadership ranks high on the list of priorities for school reform," the report added. "In a detailed 2010 survey, school and district administrators, policymakers and others declared principal leadership among the most pressing matters on a list of issues in public school education. Teacher quality stood above everything else, but principal leadership came next, outstripping matters including dropout rates, STEM education, student testing, and preparation for college and careers."

10 School Leadership Best Practices

So now that you know some of the data on how school leadership affects school performance, you might want some tips on school leadership best practices that make a difference. Here are 10 of what we feel are the most crucial ones to consider, and to model for staff and students.

1. Attend Activities

Leaders should attend sports events, of course, but they must also attend events with sparse attendance. They need to show members of academic clubs like the debate and Mathletes teams, band members, theatre groups, and even students in extracurricular activities that aren't audience- or competition-oriented that they're interested in what all of the students do.

If leaders have school pride, the students and teachers might too. "You don't have to MC everything; just be there," suggests the article "Principal Helpline: What are the 7 Habits of Successful Principals?"

2. Be Accessible

Leaders, whether they're principals or department chairs, should always be willing and able to meet with teachers. In other words, people should be prioritized over paperwork.

That might mean delegating financial and other matters to resident managers who aren't responsible for teacher and student achievement. Leaders should be so personable that teachers are comfortable approaching them with their concerns. They should also introduce themselves to students and remember their names so students regard them as people, not just enforcers of discipline.

A successful school realizes that true leadership is the business of everyone under its roof-teachers, admins, and students alike working together to make their school exceptional.

3. Be Poised

Angry parents make children angrier, just like angry coaches make their players angrier. Leaders must do everything they can to make sure that teachers and students don't let negative emotions impair their performance. That means they must be poised both in public and private even when there is bad news to be heard or a difficult decision to be made. "In (difficult) situations, always stay calm and confident to maintain morale and confidence in the school community," advises the article "Top 10 Characteristics Of Awesome 21st Century School Leaders."

4. Be Positive

Constructive school leadership best practices include making people feel like they're making a positive contribution to the school while simultaneously advising them how they can improve their performance.

Leaders meeting with teachers and/or students should first tell them what they're doing right. They should be able to say three positive things about someone's performance before getting into constructive criticism.

Ultimately, the goal is to get people to want to improve, and bad morale can cause adults to quit jobs and students to quit studying.

5. Formulate a Vision

Everyone in school leadership wants to improve the learners' academic performance, but it takes a strong leader to formulate an achievable vision to accomplish that. "Shaping a vision of academic success for all students, one based on high standards," is the first of the five practices listed in "The Effective Principal: Five Pivotal Practices that Shape Instructional Leadership."

In addition, the vision must be accompanied by a list of actionable steps needed to achieve the vision. The steps might include meetings with students and their parents to point toward the right courses, using more tutors, and training teachers in new instructional methods.

6. Communicate Effectively

Formulating a vision is inadequate if it's not communicated well. The vision statement of a principal (or superintendent or school board) must be communicated to everyone impacted by the vision, including teachers, students, and parents. That means updating teachers, students, and parents regularly on the progress of the vision statement and the steps needed to achieve it.

In addition, effective leaders prioritize returning emails, phone calls, and texts as soon as possible over paperwork and other administrative responsibilities that don't have a pressing deadline.

7. Never Stop Learning

Leaders should attend conferences that are the most likely to improve their skills and knowledge. That might mean forsaking the traditional conferences and seeking out new ones. Leaders should apply the same logic to teachers.

The article "Motivate Teachers by Becoming a More Effective Leader" stresses the importance of employee growth and being open to new ideas. "You want your employees to continually learn and grow," the article says. "Show your employees that you're also willing to learn, take input and change directions, if necessary."

The vision statement of any leader must be communicated to everyone impacted by the vision, including teachers, students, and parents.

8. Be Forthright

Forthright and candid are better words than honest because, of course, you never want to be dishonest. We're talking about always telling teachers, parents, and school district residents the truth about the school. If you need more money to achieve your vision, tell the community the options you have.

You might need to cut part of the budget substantially or raise taxes. If student performance regressed, be candid about this and seek a solution. If a previous decision was wrong, admit your mistake. Great leaders take responsibility for mistakes and bad news.

9. Train Future Leaders

Great leaders will inspire people who work under them if they give those who have grown professionally more responsibility and leadership roles. The school is better off if it has more great leaders instead of just one.

Great leaders also look for people who can fill future leadership positions. Great principals, for example, look for talented faculty who have the ability to head the department they're in. Of course, leaders need to communicate what they're doing so, for example, an older department head will buy in on training a younger future department head.

10. Listen

Innumerable studies have shown that listening is one of the most important qualities of a great leader. The above "Principal Helpline" article says this about listening: "If a teacher comes to you with a problem, listen and then ask the teacher what they think should be done." The above "Top 10 Characteristics" article says this about listening: "Listen to your teachers and students. Learn their talents, interests and passions and then delegate accordingly."

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The 10 School Leadership Best Practices That Make a Difference

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If there's one thing that anyone in any position of authority must be willing to provide in order to inspire action and achievement, it's leadership. So what about our schools and the teachers and admins who guide their policies? What could we consider to be the most crucial school leadership best practices to follow for making any school successful?