enthusiastic and eager, they may not be
the best choices because they don’t necessarily have the recognition and respect that teacher leaders need. Other principals
select teachers who are bored, or "tired," thinking that the leader role will energize them. While some teachers do in fact get
rejuvenated from participation in reform, this isn’t a good strategy; just as the reform isn’t going to mend problems in the
school as a whole, placing teachers in leadership position won’t mend their problems either.
As you think about possible leaders, you may find that you are considering some of the teacher who already are recognized as
leaders in the school. They may indeed be qualified, skilled leaders for this effort, but you need to consider the possibility
that, because they have been leaders in the past, they may not be the most appropriate choices now. In many cases, teachers who
already are recognized as leaders are accustomed to a particular kind of program and a particular kind of leadership.
The most successful principals identify a group of potential leaders who have different, but complementary strengths. Not every teacher wants to be in a school-wide leadership position, but every teacher may be able to make valuable contributions. Some may be appropriate to be mentor. Other teachers may not be skilled at coaching, but have excellent management and organizational skills. Others may simply have inspirational classrooms. Strategically bringing together such complementary individuals can be a powerful combination for helping a school progress.
2. Keep an eye out for teacher who may emerge in this role.
Although you may need to identify some leaders at the beginning, you will find that as the reform picks up momentum, other
teachers may emerge, even form the least likely places. In fact, you may wish to forego any selection of teacher leaders and
instead introduce the reform to everyone and see who is eager and interested. You may be surprised and find a leader in a teacher
that you have never turned to before.
3. Identify the leadership structure that will work best in your building.
Your approach to leadership should be tailored to your situation. Some schools, for example, choose to organize a committee
to take responsibility for the mathematics or science program. The committee might include one representative from each grade level,
one representative from primary and upper grades, all of the science or mathematics teacher (in a middle school), interdisciplinary
representation (in a middle school), or simply be made up of volunteers who are interested. Other schools may use their existing
site-based decision- making group, or delegate primary responsibility to one member of that group who then convenes a group of
interested non-committee members. Regardless of the structure, these leadership groups must have one thing in common: They must have
authority, the credibility of the group and of the reform will quickly diminish.
4. Use a team structure, and be inclusive at the outset.
Many schools have found that starting with a team of individuals is important because it sends a clear message that you are
serious about the reform and that you intend to engage the entire school in the process. The timing and process for initiating such
a team will depend on a number of factors, including the culture of your school, the formal leadership structures already in place,
existing designations of responsibility for mathematics or science, the size of your school, and the interest level of teachers.
Regardless of how or when the team is initiated, some principals have found that it is important to open participation on this team
to the entire staff. This way, they establish the understanding that everyone has input form the outset. If you are in the fortunate
position of having too many volunteers, you may consider organizing open forums or brainstorming sessions for all of the staff and
then selecting a smaller leadership group form amongst them to translate their ideas into action.
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5. Balance skills and styles within the leadership team.
When you assemble your leadership team, keep the varied skills and styles of your teachers in mind. The most effective teams
are those that take advantage of the expertise that its individuals already have. So, you may try to find a person who is especially
skilled at working with children, another who is good at talking to teachers, another who has strong content background, and another
who is skilled at working with materials. If your team then, is able to match the right person to the right job you will already
have crossed over several hurdles.
6. Make sure that roles, responsibilities and expectations are clear to everyone.
One of the greatest lessons learned about his process has been the importance of making sure that all of the players
understand what is expected of them and what their roles and responsibilities are. This is particularly critical for the leadership
team. Teacher leaders often are reluctant to step out of the comfort of their classrooms into an unknown situation. They need to
understand what you expect of them, what authority they have, what they can expect from the classroom teaches in the school, and
what they can expect from each other. Concurrently, it’s critical that the rest of the staff in the school understand who the
leadership team is, what their responsibilities are, and what they are trying to accomplish.
7. Remember that teacher leadership is grounded in classroom practice. Identify and praise examples of the "floor"
and the "ceiling."
Though it may seem obvious, it is worth reiterating that strong classroom practice is an essential element of strong teacher
leadership. In some schools we visited, this wasn’t always an assumption. In some places, for example, "leadership" was divorced
from what actually happened in teacher leaders’ classrooms; that is teachers could have the title of "leader," but still teach the
way they had always taught. In other schools, we saw the opposite situation. The most skillful teachers were not formal leaders but
still shared their expertise and classroom experiences with others. They were reflective about their practice and discussed their
ideas with their colleagues. These teachers should be recognized and praised, and held up as examples for other teachers.
Improvement of classroom practice and teacher leadership are two sides of the same coin.
8. Facilitate the development of leadership skills.
Even the most gifted teachers need support when moving into leadership positions. They are presented with challenges they may never have faced before. For example, working with adults is very different than working with children in one’s own classroom. Teacher leaders will need to develop new strategies for working with their "students," and can easily get frustrated if they fail to achieve with adults the levels of success they have with children. If you expect them to lead professional development sessions for their fellow teachers, they will need professional development for themselves.
Another skill your teacher leaders will need to develop is the ability to create long and short-term plans. For some, the notion of developing a plan for school-wide change is quite foreign. Your reform can happen without one, but a plan serves as a concrete common reference point that can be invaluable for communication and collaboration. Even if the plan is constantly changing, it is better than having no plan at all. Teacher leaders need to understand how to develop a plan that has input from all teachers and includes concrete, deliberate steps for putting in the floor and raising the ceiling. You may need to provide examples of plans or better yet, participate in the development of the plan along with your teachers.
As you develop your plan for bringing mathematics or science reform to your school, you can use a variety of organizational formats. In some schools, teams will work together to develop a plan for the year. In others, the teacher leader will develop a personal plan for his/herself to help identify specific goals and steps that he/she and the school must take.
The complete report is available from the Inverness Research Associates web site,
www.inverness-research.org/reports.html. |
