Teacher leadership is a hot topic for policy makers, administrators, university professors, and sociologists. As these players study teacher leadership, the teacher leaders themselves are in the center, making the difference in schools. The JSD talked with 13 people across the country to learn what they think about their roles as teacher leaders. The JSD found this small representation of the enormous number of hardworking leaders to be genuinely concerned about the students in their schools, anxious to build collaborative relationships with their peers, and dependent on the wisdom of principals to support them in their efforts to lead.
Every school has teachers who lead or have the potential to lead.
This resource can be unleashed if teachers are supported and helped to understand how their students and schools will benefit from their leadership. Most teachers want the best for their students. Policymakers, administrators, and other leaders outside the classroom have a responsibility to engage in authentic conversations with teacher leaders and find the resources they need to succeed. The JSD salutes all the teachers who work each day to learn, to lead, and to make a difference in their students' achievement. Louisiana She is a reading teacher who also is behavior management coordinator and works with the school's leadership council.