NewLeaders_Untapped
NewLeaders_Untapped NewLeaders_Untapped
Annie isn’t alone. The title of “teacher leader” maybe common, but clear expectations for what teachersleaders should do, and strategies to prepare them to doit, are few and far between. One recent survey foundthat while 86 percent of schools have teacher leaderroles, just 32 percent offered specialized leadershiptraining for teachers stepping into those roles. 3That painful reality plays out time and again at schoolsacross the country. Too often, teacher leaders areanointed with little guidance and held up as examplesof advancement for the profession, even as they strugglewith ambiguous expectations. Instead of practicing leadershipskills alongside their principals and colleagues,they are sent out of the building for bureaucraticprofessional development sessions and asked to reportback to staff on the latest from Central Office.As private frustration mounts, leaders publicly congratulatethemselves for putting teachers up on the dais. Andchances to transform a school’s teaching and learning aresquandered, hurting students and teachers alike.It doesn’t have to be this way. At schools with true teacherleaders, a diverse group of carefully selected and well-preparedadults gradually master and share leadershipresponsibilities. 4 They work as a team, and make hiringdecisions, set curriculum and training and establishpractices based on their various sources of expertise.These schools are true professional learning communities,where teachers guide and coach one another towardinstructional excellence. 5 They fill gaps in leadershipcapacity, making school leadership more inclusivefor teachers and sustainable for principals. 6 And theyaccelerate student learning—research shows schools havebetter academic outcomes when leadership is shared. 73 Council of Great City Schools (2015). Assistant principals and teacherleaders in America’s great city schools. Unpublished data.“In order to be an effectiveleader, you have to letothers show you theirstrengths, and connectthem with your strengths.”Emerging Leaders participant andTeacher Leader, New Orleans4 For more, see our 2015 report Untapped: A policy roadmap forimproving schools through shared leadership.5 Seashore Louis et al. (2010). Investigating the links to improved studentlearning. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement,University of Minnesota, and the Ontario Institute forStudies in Education, University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/key-research/Pages/Investigating-the-Links-to-Improved-Student-Learning.aspx6 MetLife, Inc. (2013). The MetLife survey of the American teacher:Challenges for school leadership. New York, NY: Metropolitan LifeInsurance Company. Retrieved from https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/foundation/MetLife-Teacher-Survey-2012.pdf7 Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (2009). Leadership for learning: Does collaborativeleadership make a difference in school improvement? Retrievedfrom http://philiphallinger.com/old-site/papers/EMAL_dist_2009.pdf6 | UNTAPPED
We must transform teacher leadership. Initiatives likethe federal Teach to Lead program show widespreadinterest in unleashing its power to accelerate schoolimprovement. But what will it take to developteachers into true leaders?We have identified some encouraging early answersfrom our selective Emerging Leaders Program, orELP, a job-embedded teacher leadership developmentprogram that has trained more than 1,000 participantsin 13 high-need school districts since it waslaunched in 2011.Through ELP, we work with schools to strategicallyempower their best teachers to lead colleagues towardsimilar success. First, we help principals carefullyselect candidates with the right foundational skills todeliver on that promise. Then, we help participantsmaster a focused set of high-impact instructional andadult leadership skills through targeted, on-the-jobpractice, expert coaching and actionable feedback.We assess progress and leadership readiness alongthe same standards that inform our highly effectiveprincipal training programs.After two years of data collection, ELP has providedvaluable early insights into the transformative potentialof hands-on teacher leadership training, including:• Teacher leaders can immediately boost studentlearning in their schools. Some 70 percent ofELP participants achieved notable gains in studentachievement across classrooms they supervisedduring their training year.• Teacher leaders can quickly develop and applycritical leadership skills. ELP participants madesignificant, measurable gains on high-impactskills, such as using data to strengthen instructionand coaching teachers to improve.This paper describes ELP and these findings in greaterdetail. In addition, we offer several recommendationsfor principals, policymakers and district and charterleaders based on our experience. They include:• Policymakers should remove barriers toincremental leadership development activitiesand ensure professional development funds cansupport both teacher leadership training andongoing support.• District and charter leaders should encouragesupervisors to guide principals to build leadershipcapacity at their schools, provide high-qualitytraining and support to teacher leaders and secureopportunities to bolster teacher leadership incollective bargaining conversations.• Principals should strategically share responsibilitiesamong a strong and diverse instructionalleadership team, and provide meaningfulfeedback to enable teacher leaders to develop theskills needed to effectively manage new leadershipresponsibilities.To be sure, we are at the outset of this work, and ourteacher leadership training practices continue to evolve.We are sharing our experiences now in hopes of informinga critical conversation about developing diversesources of leadership at schools across the country.The need is urgent, particularly as teachers and studentswork to achieve rising academic expectations, such asCommon Core and similarly rigorous college and careerreadiness standards. Teachers are uniquely positioned tobuild a collaborative instructional team and lead theircolleagues and students to academic success.With the right training and support, we can tap theirpotential.• Teacher leaders can fill gaps in the leadershippipeline. After one year of training, 80 percent ofELP participants who were accepted to a principalapprenticeship met proficiency standards on keyleadership skills.UNTAPPED | 7
- Page 1 and 2: UNTAPPEDTransforming Teacher Leader
- Page 3 and 4: TABLE OFCONTENTSBackground: The Nee
- Page 5: Annie is a seasoned and well-respec
- Page 9 and 10: FIGURE 1IMPACT ONSTUDENTACHIEVEMENT
- Page 11 and 12: FIGURE 3INADEQUATETRAININGFOR TEACH
- Page 13 and 14: ELP is a skills-focused, job-embedd
- Page 15 and 16: Candidates are recommended to apply
- Page 17 and 18: StructureIt’s not just what our p
- Page 19 and 20: “It’s different from going and
- Page 22 and 23: FIGURE 7ELP PARTICIPANTS’ EFFECT
- Page 26: Recommendations for District and Ch
- Page 30 and 31: TECHNICAL APPENDIXTo determine whet
- Page 32: NATIONAL OFFICENew Leaders30 West 2
Annie isn’t alone. The title of “teacher leader” maybe common, but clear expectations for what teachersleaders should do, and strategies to prepare them to doit, are few and far between. One recent survey foundthat while 86 percent of schools have teacher leaderroles, just 32 percent offered specialized leadershiptraining for teachers stepping into those roles. 3That painful reality plays out time and again at schoolsacross the country. Too often, teacher leaders areanointed with little guidance and held up as examplesof advancement for the profession, even as they strugglewith ambiguous expectations. Instead of practicing leadershipskills alongside their principals and colleagues,they are sent out of the building for bureaucraticprofessional development sessions and asked to reportback to staff on the latest from Central Office.As private frustration mounts, leaders publicly congratulatethemselves for putting teachers up on the dais. Andchances to transform a school’s teaching and learning aresquandered, hurting students and teachers alike.It doesn’t have to be this way. At schools with true teacherleaders, a diverse group of carefully selected and well-preparedadults gradually master and share leadershipresponsibilities. 4 They work as a team, and make hiringdecisions, set curriculum and training and establishpractices based on their various sources of expertise.These schools are true professional learning communities,where teachers guide and coach one another towardinstructional excellence. 5 They fill gaps in leadershipcapacity, making school leadership more inclusivefor teachers and sustainable for principals. 6 And theyaccelerate student learning—research shows schools havebetter academic outcomes when leadership is shared. 73 Council of Great City Schools (2015). Assistant principals and teacherleaders in America’s great city schools. Unpublished data.“In order to be an effectiveleader, you have to letothers show you theirstrengths, and connectthem with your strengths.”Emerging Leaders participant andTeacher Leader, New Orleans4 For more, see our 2015 report <strong>Untapped</strong>: A policy roadmap forimproving schools through shared leadership.5 Seashore Louis et al. (2010). Investigating the links to improved studentlearning. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement,University of Minnesota, and the Ontario Institute forStudies in Education, University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/school-leadership/key-research/Pages/Investigating-the-Links-to-Improved-Student-Learning.aspx6 MetLife, Inc. (2013). The MetLife survey of the American teacher:Challenges for school leadership. New York, NY: Metropolitan LifeInsurance Company. Retrieved from https://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/foundation/MetLife-Teacher-Survey-2012.pdf7 Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (2009). Leadership for learning: Does collaborativeleadership make a difference in school improvement? Retrievedfrom http://philiphallinger.com/old-site/papers/EMAL_dist_2009.pdf6 | UNTAPPED
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