Teacher Leadership
Over the past few years, I have learned that teacher leadership is most effective when it evolves from a teacher's desire to make learning more meaningful for students. I have witnessed how staff feel rejuvenated when the administration encourages teacher leadership. In this environment, real change can occur. At our middle school, teachers recently had the opportunity to revamp the schedule midyear after discussing some of the challenges our students were facing. The younger students were struggling with concentration late in the day; several students were failing due to their missed assignments; and some classes, like science, needed more time.
"Why don't we just rework the schedule, knowing what we now know about our students?" one teacher asked. The administration granted us this opportunity, and as a team, we created a schedule to best meet the needs of our students. Some blocks were broken up, while others were added. Recess was built into the schedule, and an academic support class was added every day to allow for students to get extra help, depending on their individual needs. The new schedule also offers time for students to engage in peer tutoring, take enrichment courses, or work on incomplete assignments with teachers.
This schedule has resulted in tremendous gains for many of our students in just its few weeks of implementation. Equally important is our renewed enthusiasm and the new opportunities for communication and collaboration. This is only one of many ways in which Hoboken Charter School encourages teacher leadership.
A few years ago, when the school was experiencing a leadership transition, the school created the roles of lower, middle, and high school facilitators, who served as teacher representatives on the hiring committee for the new administration and later as liaisons between staff and the administration. These positions gave classroom teachers a voice in the transition process.
Most recently, our Board of Trustees added four teacher representatives, providing teachers with an even greater voice in school policies and governance. Also, over the next few weeks, the middle school staff will begin meeting to revise our code of conduct and to find new ways to motivate students. We will have the support and expertise of our administration and other stakeholders, and we will create a plan that we hope will ensure success and safety for all students.
If you are hoping to develop more opportunities for teacher leadership in your school, I recommend engaging the principal and a few interested staff in a discussion about what teachers can do to best support the administration while also developing new leadership skills. As a team, establish goals and an action plan together, keeping students' best interests in mind.