Running head: ECI 508: TEACHER LEADERSHIP ESSAY

Teacher Leadership
Kenny Collishaw
ECI 508
North Carolina State University
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As education has changed throughout time, so have the needs of the schools, and the roles of

teachers. The term teacher leadership has evolved greatly and has expanded in opportunity to

most willing to take it. Formerly, teacher leadership roles were highly limited in opportunity. For

example, the approach to leadership in education was very hierarchical, and limited to

administration, department heads, and those whose job description was a leadership role. When

teacher leadership is approached in this manner, it limits productivity of teachers, thus, limiting

the learning environment for students. In a school where advocacy for teachers is left only up to

department heads and administrators, the needs are not met sufficiently. The development of

teacher leadership into its current state is due largely in part to the initiative and open mindset

that has made its way into school systems. As seen in the article, Teacherpreneurs: Cultivating

and Scaling up a Bold Brand of Teacher Leadership, the changing nature of schools in the 21st

century has afforded too much pressure on administrators to lead on their own, and the diverse

needs of a school call for the help of teacher leaders.

Throughout the length of this course, Teachers as Leaders, my concept of teacher leadership

and its definition have changed. Initially, my impression of teacher leadership was the more

traditional approach, including department heads and veteran teachers. Through learning from

various assigned readings, classroom discussions, and videos, teacher leadership includes many

different roles and is much more encompassing than formal roles suggest. My understanding of

teacher leadership is that it is a mindset that enables all members of a school community, and

allows teachers to take on responsibilities and tasks beyond their classroom in order to impact a

school beyond the four walls of their classroom. Certainly, teacher leaders can lead within their
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own classroom. Additionally, while all teacher leaders lead within their classroom, not all that

are classroom leaders are teacher leaders.

While teacher leadership and its meaning resonate differently with various individuals, there

are many widely agreed upon components that define teacher leadership. In order to define

teacher leadership properly, the question of Who can be a teacher leader?" must be recognized.

In What We Know About Teacher Leadership,(Barth, 2001, p. 445) the author answers this

question, stating The most reliable, useful, proximate, and professional help resides under the

roof of the schoolhouse with the teaching staff itself. The quote seen in this article highlights

how far teacher leadership has come, and how anyone with a student centered, community

mindset, and will to impact the whole can step into a leadership position. In an advocacy

mindset, people with all backgrounds should be permitted to take on leadership roles, as this

ensures all styles, ages, experience levels, content areas are advocated for in a school system.

Ultimately, when examining teacher leadership roles, and the representation of teacher

leadership, it is crucial to also examine the themes within teacher leadership. Teacher leaders

must address themes of advocacy, encouraging and communicating with staff members with all

teaching styles, being a leader within their own classroom, and mentorship. While the themes of

teacher leaders are limitless, and various teacher leaders have strengths in different themes, the

previously listed themes are areas that cannot be ignored when discerning a teacher from a

teacher leader.

Advocacy is a cornerstone of a teacher leader and comes in all forms. The theme of

advocacy in teacher leadership extends beyond the four walls of the classroom, into advocacy for

the needs of the school as a whole, and teachers with various needs. In a hierarchical leadership
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system, teachers, specifically with less experience, become hesitant to bring issues to the

attention of teacher leaders. When leadership roles are embraced at all levels, it enables an

optimal level of opportunity for advocacy. In the article Reflection and Refraction, (Dr. Pope,

2011) the author hints that cultivating a mindset of advocacy in a school calls on all teachers to

be both reflective and refractive. In refractive practices, teachers truly are able to advocate for

their students and see needs from their points of view. Another substantial component of

successful advocacy is taking the little time teachers have and making it work as suggested in

13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment (Zemelman and Ross, 2009, pg. 68). If time is not designated

to work in teams, as tough as it may be, arrange a way to set aside the time. Of course, all of this

would be most successful with designated time set aside for teachers, due to the demands of

teaching.

No matter how experienced a teacher may be, every teacher has needs, every student has

needs, and every parent has needs and desires for their children to be advocated for. Ways that

teacher leaders can advocate exist in school improvement meetings, designated time to work in

teams, informal check-ins, attending board meetings, and proactively engaging in the community

to be able to advocate for those hesitant to bring the needs to a teacher leaders attention.

Encouraging and enabling other staff (Ch 6 Smarter Teacher Leadership)

Another theme of teacher leadership is encouragement and effective communication. While I

do not believe that a leader must have a certain personality type, I am confident in stating that a

significant teacher leader must be an effective communicator. Perhaps, without being a

communicator, none of the other themes of teacher leadership are possible. Pentland identifies

effective teacher leaders as charismatic connectors in Smarter Teacher Leadership, and

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characterizes a charismatic connector as someone who employs skills and outlooks they have

worked to develop, a good listener, open-minded, optimistic, and exhibiting empathy. (Pentland,

2016, pg. 97)

The value of community and mentorship in teaching, as well as teacher leadership, cannot be

ignored. Teachers who isolate themselves, according to research shown in 13 Steps to Teacher

Empowerment, often leave the profession, including those with a love and passion for teaching.

(Zemelman and Ross, 2009) Peer observations for teachers, when approached in a reflective,

non-intrusive manner, can be great for teaching and mentorship opportunities. Often, without

designating time to do this, finding the time can be difficult as the teachers classroom is their

first priority. Furthermore, with a supportive team of administration, or teacher leaders

advocating for designated time for teachers from all backgrounds to observe and reflect upon

each other, it cultivates a positive, trusting, school climate and culture. An excellent role for

teacher leadership and the ability to extend impact beyond ones own classroom is for an

experienced teacher to mentor a new teacher. Most teachers value the experience of mentorship

and recognize its effectiveness when wisdom is shared between veteran and beginning teachers.

While it may be intimidating for some teachers to open their classroom door, it enables the

mentor the opportunity to make an impact, and it enables the teacher to understand and see their

classroom from another point of view.

In order to be prepared to engage in teacher leadership, and all of the other themes and roles

that come along with the territory, it is necessary that teachers lead in their own classroom.

Something that must be avoided in teacher leadership roles is putting the majority of a teachers

focus on everything but students. In order to effectively lead teachers, one must effectively lead

students and have student centered goals. In all avenues of leadership, followers look to a leader
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that is a role model, and understands that little details make the big picture. On the other hand, in

Chapter 8 of Awakening the Sleeping Giant, Katzenmeyer and Moller point out that many times

teachers do not extend beyond teaching once they master their own classroom due to lack of

investment (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2009). For example, when time is not invested in a

teacher, and there is no monetary investment in leadership positions, it is easy to make sense of

only working as hard as you have to. In an article titled Teacherpreneurs: Cultivating and

Scaling Up a Bold Brand of Teacher Leadership, Berry demonstrates a bold truth about teacher

leadership in that top performing nations invest in teacher leaders (Berry, 2015). Specifically,

Shanghai and Finland are exemplary in investing time and money in teacher leadership positions.

In conclusion, teachers with initiative must step up in school systems in hopes that they will

be rewarded, and with faith that at the very least, the students will. Perhaps schools could survive

without bodies of teacher leadership, but it simply could not thrive. When emerging into teacher

leadership, a plan of action sets a future teacher leader up for success and organization. Through

the class readings, discussions, videos and personal experiences, I have created a ten step plan to

enact in teacher leadership. The first step of the plan is to build classroom experience and a

reputation. Next, I focused on initiating conversation in the professional learning team and

learning to advocate for personal successes and ideas for the curriculum. Once I was able to do

that, my plan is to sit in on school improvement team meetings to communicate and collaborate

with other teacher leaders. Upon taking these actions, I was approached by administration about

ideas that I have brought to the table, and in return, I was able to meet with county directors in

digital portfolios, as well as other teachers in the county who sought training for the mission on

of having students create portfolios to display exemplary work. In order to make this plan a plan

of action, the next step was to pilot the idea of digital portfolios for my school in my own
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classroom. It is significant to have done clear examples and concise research when bringing new

ideas to the staff. The experiment done on my own class is what discerns digital portfolios as a

risk worth taking to an exemplary tool for learning. By piloting this on my own class, I was able

to not only reflect, but refract, with my pilot class and get their praises, criticisms, and insights.

The next two stages of my plan of action have not happened yet, but are scheduled to happen in

August, as I will be giving professional development training to the staff on enacting digital

portfolios, and presenting to the school improvement team in order to get all hands on deck for

this approach. While these ten steps were highly personalized, they can be tailored to any idea.

Experience, advocating for own ideas in small settings, getting involved beyond your own

content in leadership meetings, seeking out professionals beyond the school itself with similar

passions, attend trainings and professional learning opportunities, pilot new, innovative ideas in

experiment on classes, be reflective and refractive, share success with other teacher leaders, offer

support to other teachers in the building, remember that students drive leadership and thrive in

environments that colleagues put trust in one another. In summation, if teacher leaders can

receive investment, the future of teacher leadership is bright. If teacher leaders continue to work

hybrid jobs with half the recognition and an underwhelming salary, the future for teacher

leadership is bright. It is without question that schools are evolving, and the leadership needs do

not stop with department heads and administrators. If schools truly are student centered, schools

will learn to compensate and cultivate leadership opportunities for teachers.

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References

Berry, B. (2013). Teacherpreneurs: A bold brand of teacher leadership for 21st-Century teaching

and learning. Science, 340(6130), 309-310.

Conyers, M., & Wilson, D. (2016). Smarter teacher leadership: neuroscience and the power of

purposeful collaboration. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: helping teachers develop

as leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Pope, C. A. (1999). Reflection and refraction: A reflexive look at an evolving model for methods

instruction. English Education, 31(3), 177-200.Reflection and Refraction: A Reflexive

Look at an Evolving Model for Methods Instruction

York-Barr, J., & Duke, K. (2004). What do we know about teacher leadership? Findings from

two decades of scholarship. Review of educational research, 74(3), 255-316.

Zemelman, S., & Ross, H. (2009). Thirteen steps to teacher empowerment: taking a more active

role in your school community. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann