What is Teacher Leadership

Teacher Leadership is the very first standard and element on the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation instrument. It's that important. Our school houses close to 100 employees (including teachers, assistants, clerical staff, support staff, cafeteria and custodial workers) and 800 students. Between myself and my assistant principals, we would be lucky to directly engage about 10-20% of those people on a daily basis. Teachers have to be leaders to direct the rest. The system simply would not work without it. While we recognize that teacher leadership is fundamental, we fail to prepare teacher leaders. Be honest, how many of us have actually had professional development in leadership?

Being a teacher leader is akin to being a captain on a team. You play alongside your teammates and cheer them on the majority of the time. Sometimes you also have to be the one to call out when things are not working and address that as well. If I am being honest about the problems that schools face, we can trace plenty of them back to ourselves. Adult problems of failing to enforce rules, set a proper example or perform to expectations allow students to run awry. At the same time, this isn't the Marine Corps either. Somewhere in there is a balance where we lead by example, support each other and our goals and enjoy what we do. Teacher leaders support that balance. The valuable voices of teachers support schools and the direction they move toward. They are not dependent on years of experience or pay scale. Each week I go to several teachers on our staff for ideas and direction. Teacher input is essential to school administration.

In the spirit of yesterday's fantastic professional development, (great job Shaw and Garcia), I'll share with you one of the first leadership lessons I was ever taught. It is one that still holds true for me today, and one I try to go back to often. "There are no part-time leaders. Real leaders are there all of the time." Work toward teacher leadership by first leading in your classroom, then seeking to lead beyond your students. Be consistent. Work to always be a leader that your students and colleagues can count on. If everyone did that, just imagine what example it would set for our students.