"All Teachers Can Lead"
Carole Hayward
In her Sunday morning session, "Preparing Successful Teacher Leaders: What Have We Learned?", presenter Ann Ifekwunigwe explored the relationship between teacher leadership and student achievement. Citing Barth (2001), she explained that "distributed leadership promotes both school improvement and human learning. Ultimately, the teacher who is always leading and learning will beget students who are both leading and learning. This is what distributed leadership is all about and why it is so central to the health—and the meaning—of education."
Ifekwunigwe also shared what others have to say on this research-rich subject:
- Many teachers who continue teaching beyond their fifth year fall into traditional teacher routines and experience a reduced interest in teaching (Huberman, 1989).
- Successful teachers may leave teaching because they become dissatisfied with the established teacher career path, one that provides little opportunity for advancement unless one moves into school administration (Salim, 2009).
- Today's novice teachers are interested in having regular collaboration with their colleagues, greater flexibility in their work day, and an expanded sphere of influence and opportunities for career advancement (Danielson, 2006).
- When teachers pursue leadership roles that provided greater influence in curriculum and instruction, they may not feel the need to become administrator to grow professionally (Ackerman & Mackenzie, 2007).
Attendees had an opportunity to weigh in as well. When asked why they should care about teacher leadership, they weren't shy with their answers:
- "We need leaders—administrators are overwhelmed and can't do it all."
- "To keep teachers in classroom, professionalize leadership and give extra money to go with it."
- "Some teachers leave teaching because they aren't given opportunities to prove themselves."
Engaging in leadership opportunities allows teachers to have influence beyond their own classrooms. The roles of a teacher leader are many and varied. Citing Educational Leadership's issue on Teachers as Leaders, the presenter went on to list several:
- Resource provider
- Instructional specialist
- Curriculum specialist
- Classroom supporter
- Learning facilitator
- Mentor
- School leader
- Data coach
- Catalyst for change
- Learner
One attendee noted that the challenge is determining which of these roles you are going to take on at any given time and for any given period of time. "They're all vital, but you have to decide which role actually helps students learn and achieve." Another noted that "the process is mess—there is not beginning or end."
Ifekwunigwe also had some strategies for central office administrators to consider:
- Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
- Take risks.
- Solicit and be receptive to new ideas; trust the change agents.
- Make structural changes in roles, responsibilities, and nomenclature.
- Stay the course.
- Let go of familiar ways.
A couple of central office administrators from Connecticut shared that they have high hopes for the teacher leaders being developed in their district. "We're all dancing just as fast as we can, all the time. And due to budget constraints, we are extremely lean in terms of staffing at all levels, so all it takes is an issue, such as H1N1 preparedness, to drop down on us, and we are behind in what we are trying to achieve."
Ifekwunigwe stressed that the question to ask through all of the preparations teacher leaders undergo is: "How does that improve student learning?" If we keep that in mind and answer that question, she quoted Barth (2001): "All teachers can lead."