Teacher Leader KnowledgeBase

Research Brief: Teacher Leadership

This research brief on teacher leadership was prepared by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools Department of Professional Learning and Accountability, Office of Program Evaluation. The brief provides an overview of the issues associated with teachers in leadership roles. It may be useful as a tool to introduce the concept to school board members, administrators and teachers.

Literacy Coaching: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

This National Council of Teachers of English website provides a current definition of literacy coaching, what makes a qualified literary coach and leadership standards. A support network for this growing movement, including standards, definitions and resources, has been developing simultaneously and has recently been launched online thanks to a collaboration between the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA).

Are you an Informal Teacher-Leader?

This link to an October 2008 article in the Teachers.Net Gazette examines the role of the informal teacher leader. This article may be helpful for teachers aspiring to be seen as leader by their colleagues.

Becoming a Servant Leader: Do You Have What it Takes?

This link is to a resource on servant leadership from the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The document identifies 11 characteristics of servant leadership, along with self-assessment questions to consider.

Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse (LCC) Briefs

This World Cat Identities website holds some of the most widely held works by Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse (LCC), since the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse has been discontinued.

Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse Online at NCTE

The Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse (LCC), currently housed on the NCTE website, is an essential resource. This comprehensive site is invaluable, with its checklists, briefs, step-by-step guidance on professional development, team leadership, classroom planning, observation, evaluation, self-assessment and more. LCC was the first to develop a special set of resources for the "instructional coach" at the middle and high school levels.

Effective Literacy Practices Video Library

This video library offers extensive examples to help educators strengthen early literacy outcomes for K-3 students. Six effective literacy practices are highlighted to deepen teachers’ understandings of literacy learning. The practices may be incorporated into teaching in the classroom, small groups and one-on-one instruction. The web-based modules, listed and linked at the bottom of this page, consist of a short video and a downloadable reference guide.

Principal Support for Literacy Coaching

This ERIC website states educators agree that leadership by a principal profoundly affects what is accomplished at a school. This effect of leadership is particularly true when schools and districts are engaged in reform. When the reform effort impinges on school culture, the principal plays the main role in leading and supporting this change. Download PDF

Progress in Literacy Coaching Success—A Dozen Years On

Literacy coaches are most successful when they develop strong and trusting relationships, provide clarity about their roles, communicate well, spend much of their time in coaching conversations and monitor their perspectives about their work and those with whom they work. However, challenges still persist for literacy coaches, particularly in relation to administrators' understanding of literacy coaching, training for literacy coaches and the amount of time allocated for literacy coaching. This July 2017 journal article describes each of these successful practices and each of these challenges, based upon the author's experience over more than 12 years as an international consultant on literacy coaching and supported by research from the literature on coaching, with the goals of summarizing current knowledge, providing practical suggestions for improvement and encouraging forward movement in the field of coaching.