They know how to honor their colleagues. Classroom change hasn't been sudden or sweeping since the lead teacher program started. Instead, it evolves one little step at a time. They'll get one new little piece, take it back to their classroom, and try it out. They might come back to me with more questions, then go try it again.
Improvement is a process.
That takes some of the risk out of asking for help or leading a lesson in a different way. Of course, some teachers are more open than others to considering new ideas. Lead teachers work hard to keep their relationships with other teachers collegial. That's not part of our job, and we've tried to make that clear from the beginning. The leads don't carry tales back to the principal, don't file teacher evaluations with the front office, don't step into supervisors' shoes.