According to recent RAND research, “Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling.… When it comes to student performance on reading and math tests, teachers are estimated to have two to three times the effect of any other school factor, including services, facilities, and even leadership.” And second only to teaching among school related factors is leadership (Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, & Anderson, 2010).
Leadership comes in all shapes, sizes, situations, and official roles. EDUTAS supports teacher leadership from a philosophical approach of Collective Leadership – collecting the leadership skills of each individual in a school community for the benefit of students. That means all educators and stakeholders play leadership roles in a school community to serve students with the best resources, skills, and knowledge available. Teachers, administrators, staff members, families, communities, and even students contribute to the school improvement process through specific leadership activities. EDUTAS staff members facilitate and draw out the leadership skills of everyone in the community who desires to take the lead in one way or another.
Take teacher leadership in your district or school to the next level with EDUTAS. Contact us for more information.
Examples
Multi-Classroom Leaders: EDUTAS staff members supported an urban middle school in considering, selecting, and implementing a teacher leadership model known as Opportunity Culture, an initiative of Public Impact. Multi-Classroom Leadership places teacher leaders in positions where their instructional and leadership expertise are extended to serve more students as well as other classroom teachers. Through co-planning and co-teaching, teacher leaders coach less experienced or less effective educators, building their capacity to become excellent rapidly. Multi-Classroom Leaders also take responsibility for outcomes of all students in the multi-classroom team. Because teacher leaders take on more responsibilities and accountability in this model, they are compensated for their leadership roles, allowing them to advance in their careers while remaining in classrooms where students receive direct benefits from their instruction.
Collective Teacher Efficacy: EDUTAS provides opportunities to enhance the skills and competencies of teacher leaders. EDUTAS supported a building principal to cultivate teacher leaders using Collaborative Inquiry to build Collective Teacher Efficacy. Inspiring and equipping each of the teachers, the principal recognized the contributions and leadership potential of several classroom teachers to support others across the school. In unofficial roles, these teacher leaders are contributing to the Collective Teacher Efficacy of the entire building, resulting in improved student learning.
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