The Thought of the Week is posted every Wednesday and offers a simple thought regarding Teacher Leadership. Each week's "Thought of the Week" is stored and can be accessed by clicking the button below. If you have a thought about teacher leadership that you would like to share, please email to [email protected]. Please make sure to include information for proper citations, if applicable.
(Week of 12.14.2016) Teacher leaders must be leaders who inspire teachers, students, staff members, and school administrators to be innovative. Teacher leaders must encourage others to take risks by modeling risk-taking in schools. Teacher leaders can change the school culture from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset through innovation.
(Week of 12.07.2016) Collaboration is an important strategy in a teacher leader’s toolkit. Through collaboration, the teacher leader can coach and mentor others, model school-wide and teacher-to-teacher collaboration, as well as, empower others to be school leaders. It is important for teacher leaders to model the collaboration in order to encourage others to engage in the sharing of strategies, resources, and leadership.
(Week of 11.30.2016) Teacher leaders are members of the school’s leadership team who are often responsible for engaging diverse perspectives. School administrators, as they recruit teachers to be leaders, must look for teachers with effective communication skills. Furthermore, school administrators must seek teachers who have the ability to connect with all stakeholders and engage them in the school process.
(Week of 11.23.2016) School administrators, as well as, teachers, must recognize the need for teacher leaders in schools. Without teacher leaders, schools will undoubtedly struggle to meet the increasing demands that society has placed on K-12 education. Teacher leadership must not be viewed as the silver ingredient to solve all school problems, but teacher leadership can start to address many of the problems.
(Week of 11.16.2016) Teacher leadership, at the end of the day, is about student success. Teachers are empowered to be leaders to help school administrators to create a school culture that is focused on student success. Furthermore, teacher leadership, when properly, will not only lead to increases in student achievement, but also improvements in the classroom and more effective school leadership overall.
(Week of 11.09.2016) Teacher leadership is critical to the success of the school, student achievement, and leadership effectiveness. As teachers are empowered to be leaders, formally and informally, school leaders are better positioned to be instructional leaders, instead of educational managers. A culture of teacher leadership expands empowerment – horizontally and vertically.
(Week of 11.02.2016) Celebrating teacher leadership is critical to creating a school culture conducive to shared leadership. Teachers, as well as, other stakeholders need to see school administrators supporting teacher leaders. More importantly, celebrating and recognizing the work of teacher leaders sends the message that school administrators support teacher leadership and that teacher leaders are formal and informal leaders in the school. Celebrating teacher leadership in school is free, abundant and powerful.
(Week of 10.26.2016) Empowering teachers to be leaders will look different in each school and school district. It is important to create a culture of teacher leadership based on the needs of the school/district, teachers, students and the school community. Though there are universal skills that all teacher leaders must possess, their roles and expectations must not be developed using a cookie-cutter approach. The more teacher leadership is based on specific needs of the school and aligned to the school’s culture, the more likely teacher leaders will be effective in their role as school leaders.
(Week of 10.20.2016) As school leaders empower teachers to be leaders, other stakeholders are also empowered. Teacher leaders engage and empower others to be part of the decision-making process. Teacher leaders realize that when stakeholders are engaged and empowered, the school’s culture improves, teacher retention increases, and more importantly, student achievement increases. Furthermore, as stakeholders are empowered the leadership capacity in a school grows exponentially, thus leading to a sustainable focus on the school’s vision and direction.
(Week of 10.12.2016) As school leaders empower teachers to be leaders, a culture of teacher leadership forms. Furthermore, as teachers are empowered to be leaders, they in turn, empower others to be leaders. Teacher leaders understand and realize that empowerment of others strengthen their ability to be school leaders and to provide the needed support and resources to improve student success and professional practice.
(Week of 10.05.2016) Teacher leaders are “stealthy” but giants with a laser focus on student success. They work behind the scenes, but work to make sure that teachers have the needed support and resources to ensure students experience success. Teacher leaders lead with laser precision to remove barriers and obstacles that hinder improvements in student success and professional practice. Though they may not be seen, teacher leaders are working to create the best learning environment for students.
(Week of 09.28.2016) Teacher leadership is critical in today’s schools. Schools are complex organizations that are only becoming more complex with each passing year. Teacher leadership helps to remove barriers and obstacles that prevent school’s culture from being student-centered. They help school administrators to develop a vision that is diverse, inspiring and clearly focused on student success.
(Week of 09.21.2016) Teacher leadership is so much more than checklists, name badges and door signs. Teacher leadership is about student success and improving professional practice. As a result, teacher leadership must be diverse and aligned to the school’s vision – not rigid, but instead flexible.
(Week of 09.14.2016) Teacher leaders are critical stakeholders in the transformation of a school and district. They are change agents who understand the importance of inspiring others to commit to the organization’s vision. They serve others as a means to engage them in the school’s vision, while they empower them to be leaders. Teacher leaders are always moving – seeking the next opportunity to lead and serve!
(Week of 09.07.2016) Growing a culture of teacher leadership is about student success and leadership capacity. As a culture of teacher leadership grows within a school, a laser focus on student success begins to develop. Furthermore, as teachers are empowered to be leaders, they in turn, empower others to be leaders. The cycle of empowerment only grows the leadership capacity within a school.
(Week of 08.31.2016) Teacher leaders help others to develop the determination to overcome setbacks and remove barriers that prevent students from experiencing success. It is all about student success. As teacher leaders help teachers to develop the self-confidence in the classroom, the teachers become more positive and focused on student success. Teacher leaders pass along their determination to be the best for students to other teachers.
(Week of 08.24.2016) When teachers are empowered to be leaders, great things happen for students. Schools that have a strong culture of teacher leadership also experience high student achievement. Teacher leaders have a laser focus on student success. As teachers are empowered to be leaders, they also become more engaged in the decision-making process and help to keep others and processes focused on student success.
(Week of 08.17.2016) Often barriers prevent teacher leadership from taking root in the school’s culture. To be specific, the barriers are school administrators, a lack of understanding of teacher leadership among stakeholders, and the initiative of teachers. As a result, school administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders must work together to remove these barriers. Collaboration is critical to removing each barrier and also growing a culture of teacher leadership.
(Week of 08.10.2016) Teacher Leaders are servant leaders who adapt in order to meet the needs of students, teachers, staff and the overall school. They expand their leadership reach by serving others and ensuring the success of others. They understand that they only succeed if others succeed. Their focus on ensuring the success of others results in them being an effective school leader. Stakeholders value the dedication of teacher leaders to meeting their needs and providing support and resources to ensure overall success.
(Week of 08.03.2016) Teacher Leadership is much more than just labeling a teacher is a leader. Teacher leadership is about empowering teachers to be leaders in school, including them in the decision-making process, an so much more. Teacher leaders want to be involved in helping the school improve by working behind the scenes to empower others to be leaders and serving others – providing resources and support to ensure the success of students. Teacher leaders serve to help the school remained focused on ALL students experience success.
(Week of 07.27.2016) Teacher Leaders are school leaders with a passion to serve others. They look for opportunities to help and empower others. They take the time to build relationships with stakeholders that will lead to positive outcomes for students. Furthermore, teacher leaders coach and mentor others to work through obstacles and use setbacks as learning opportunities. Teacher leaders are visionary, servant leaders who inspire others to take risks and challenge the status quo by removing the fear of failure.
(Week of 07.20.2016) Teacher leaders are critical players, in fact, critical leaders in creating a school culture built on continuous improvement. Teacher leaders model the expectation that everyone can grow and must engage in professional learning to reach new levels in professional practice. More importantly, they encourage others to commit to continuous improvement as a means to help students reach new levels of achievement and success. They model the understanding that success, quality and high performance are not a destination but an ongoing journey.
(Week of 07.13.2016) Teacher leaders are data-driven transformative school leaders. They help others to utilize data to identify gaps in learning, as well as, areas of high-performance. Teacher leaders coach and mentor others to build upon successes in order to close any gaps in the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, they help teachers to utilize data to grow as teachers, improving professional practice and aligning the teaching and learning process to the needs of students.
(Week of 07.06.2016) Teacher leaders have a spark that is truly contagious in schools. Teacher leaders are transformative leaders who inspire others to push the boundaries for student success. As teacher leaders model the expectation of innovation and creativity in their classrooms, other teachers also become innovative and creative. Teacher leaders inspire and empower others to be great. They take the fear of failure away by helping others to view failures as learning opportunities to become better teachers and leaders for students.
(Week of 06.29.2016) School administrators are not solely responsible for growing and empowering teacher leaders. Teachers also share in this responsibility. Teachers must want to be leaders in order to be empowered to be leaders. They must look for opportunities to lead and be part of the decision-making process. Teachers should volunteer to lead professional learning communities or facilitate professional learning opportunities. They lead by taking a lead in their own empowerment!
(Week of 06.22.2016) Teacher leaders exist formally and informally in schools. Often, schools focus on empowering teacher leaders to be formal leaders – like department chairs and lead teachers. However, the majority of teacher leaders are informal leaders – those teachers who lead informal professional learning communities, advocate for students, and mentor both new and veteran teachers. A teacher leader does not need a designation to be a leader, only an opportunity!
(Week of 06.15.2016) Teacher leadership is not a one-size fits all style of leadership. Teacher leadership is about meeting the needs of students, teachers, the school and the greater school community. It is important for schools to create a culture of teacher leadership that is geared toward the needs of stakeholders. In other words, customize teacher leadership to meet the needs of your school and stakeholders, don’t settle for a cookie-cutter approach to something as important as teacher leadership.
(Week of 06.08.2016) Educators often fail to see the best things in life – the free stuff. Teacher leadership is free and available to all schools. Teacher leadership only requires school administrators who are willing to empower teachers and teachers who are willing to lead. The best things in life are free and teacher leadership is no different. Teacher leadership, as discovered by millions, is the glue that holds things together, the thing that can move a good school to a great school, and take student achievement and professional practice to new levels.
(Week of 06.01.2016) Teacher leaders are constantly seeking ways to expand their reach in school, throughout the district and in the community. They understand that their effectiveness as a leader depends on their ability to connect the school’s stakeholders. Collaboration and teamwork is essential to teacher leadership and the overall effectiveness of the school. Furthermore, they use teamwork and collaboration to empower others to be leaders in school.
(Week of 05.25.2016) The key to teacher leadership is creating opportunities for teachers to be leaders. As schools are increasingly becoming more complex, school administrators must empower teachers to be part of the decision-making process. Furthermore, empower teachers to be coaches/mentors to other teachers, facilitators of professional learning communities and leading the formation of partnerships with the greater school community.
(Week of 05.18.2016) Teacher leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, teacher leaders bring diverse perspectives to the table, from their various experiences as a teacher. As school administrators seek out teachers to be leaders, it is important to understand to evaluate each teacher based on his or her experiences, talents and skills. School administrators must look for teachers who have the desire to be leaders and have the skills and talents that are best aligned to the needs of the students, teachers and school. But more importantly, every teacher can bring something to the table that can help move the school forward – when given the opportunity to lead.
(Week of 05.11.2016) Teacher leaders lead by empowering others to be leaders in school. They are effective servant leaders who lead with a clear focus on improving student achievement by improving professional practice. Teacher leaders find clarity in their role by leading from the classroom and providing support and resources to others. They are passionate about empowering others to lead and succeed.
(Week of 12.14.2016) Teacher leaders must be leaders who inspire teachers, students, staff members, and school administrators to be innovative. Teacher leaders must encourage others to take risks by modeling risk-taking in schools. Teacher leaders can change the school culture from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset through innovation.
(Week of 12.07.2016) Collaboration is an important strategy in a teacher leader’s toolkit. Through collaboration, the teacher leader can coach and mentor others, model school-wide and teacher-to-teacher collaboration, as well as, empower others to be school leaders. It is important for teacher leaders to model the collaboration in order to encourage others to engage in the sharing of strategies, resources, and leadership.
(Week of 11.30.2016) Teacher leaders are members of the school’s leadership team who are often responsible for engaging diverse perspectives. School administrators, as they recruit teachers to be leaders, must look for teachers with effective communication skills. Furthermore, school administrators must seek teachers who have the ability to connect with all stakeholders and engage them in the school process.
(Week of 11.23.2016) School administrators, as well as, teachers, must recognize the need for teacher leaders in schools. Without teacher leaders, schools will undoubtedly struggle to meet the increasing demands that society has placed on K-12 education. Teacher leadership must not be viewed as the silver ingredient to solve all school problems, but teacher leadership can start to address many of the problems.
(Week of 11.16.2016) Teacher leadership, at the end of the day, is about student success. Teachers are empowered to be leaders to help school administrators to create a school culture that is focused on student success. Furthermore, teacher leadership, when properly, will not only lead to increases in student achievement, but also improvements in the classroom and more effective school leadership overall.
(Week of 11.09.2016) Teacher leadership is critical to the success of the school, student achievement, and leadership effectiveness. As teachers are empowered to be leaders, formally and informally, school leaders are better positioned to be instructional leaders, instead of educational managers. A culture of teacher leadership expands empowerment – horizontally and vertically.
(Week of 11.02.2016) Celebrating teacher leadership is critical to creating a school culture conducive to shared leadership. Teachers, as well as, other stakeholders need to see school administrators supporting teacher leaders. More importantly, celebrating and recognizing the work of teacher leaders sends the message that school administrators support teacher leadership and that teacher leaders are formal and informal leaders in the school. Celebrating teacher leadership in school is free, abundant and powerful.
(Week of 10.26.2016) Empowering teachers to be leaders will look different in each school and school district. It is important to create a culture of teacher leadership based on the needs of the school/district, teachers, students and the school community. Though there are universal skills that all teacher leaders must possess, their roles and expectations must not be developed using a cookie-cutter approach. The more teacher leadership is based on specific needs of the school and aligned to the school’s culture, the more likely teacher leaders will be effective in their role as school leaders.
(Week of 10.20.2016) As school leaders empower teachers to be leaders, other stakeholders are also empowered. Teacher leaders engage and empower others to be part of the decision-making process. Teacher leaders realize that when stakeholders are engaged and empowered, the school’s culture improves, teacher retention increases, and more importantly, student achievement increases. Furthermore, as stakeholders are empowered the leadership capacity in a school grows exponentially, thus leading to a sustainable focus on the school’s vision and direction.
(Week of 10.12.2016) As school leaders empower teachers to be leaders, a culture of teacher leadership forms. Furthermore, as teachers are empowered to be leaders, they in turn, empower others to be leaders. Teacher leaders understand and realize that empowerment of others strengthen their ability to be school leaders and to provide the needed support and resources to improve student success and professional practice.
(Week of 10.05.2016) Teacher leaders are “stealthy” but giants with a laser focus on student success. They work behind the scenes, but work to make sure that teachers have the needed support and resources to ensure students experience success. Teacher leaders lead with laser precision to remove barriers and obstacles that hinder improvements in student success and professional practice. Though they may not be seen, teacher leaders are working to create the best learning environment for students.
(Week of 09.28.2016) Teacher leadership is critical in today’s schools. Schools are complex organizations that are only becoming more complex with each passing year. Teacher leadership helps to remove barriers and obstacles that prevent school’s culture from being student-centered. They help school administrators to develop a vision that is diverse, inspiring and clearly focused on student success.
(Week of 09.21.2016) Teacher leadership is so much more than checklists, name badges and door signs. Teacher leadership is about student success and improving professional practice. As a result, teacher leadership must be diverse and aligned to the school’s vision – not rigid, but instead flexible.
(Week of 09.14.2016) Teacher leaders are critical stakeholders in the transformation of a school and district. They are change agents who understand the importance of inspiring others to commit to the organization’s vision. They serve others as a means to engage them in the school’s vision, while they empower them to be leaders. Teacher leaders are always moving – seeking the next opportunity to lead and serve!
(Week of 09.07.2016) Growing a culture of teacher leadership is about student success and leadership capacity. As a culture of teacher leadership grows within a school, a laser focus on student success begins to develop. Furthermore, as teachers are empowered to be leaders, they in turn, empower others to be leaders. The cycle of empowerment only grows the leadership capacity within a school.
(Week of 08.31.2016) Teacher leaders help others to develop the determination to overcome setbacks and remove barriers that prevent students from experiencing success. It is all about student success. As teacher leaders help teachers to develop the self-confidence in the classroom, the teachers become more positive and focused on student success. Teacher leaders pass along their determination to be the best for students to other teachers.
(Week of 08.24.2016) When teachers are empowered to be leaders, great things happen for students. Schools that have a strong culture of teacher leadership also experience high student achievement. Teacher leaders have a laser focus on student success. As teachers are empowered to be leaders, they also become more engaged in the decision-making process and help to keep others and processes focused on student success.
(Week of 08.17.2016) Often barriers prevent teacher leadership from taking root in the school’s culture. To be specific, the barriers are school administrators, a lack of understanding of teacher leadership among stakeholders, and the initiative of teachers. As a result, school administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders must work together to remove these barriers. Collaboration is critical to removing each barrier and also growing a culture of teacher leadership.
(Week of 08.10.2016) Teacher Leaders are servant leaders who adapt in order to meet the needs of students, teachers, staff and the overall school. They expand their leadership reach by serving others and ensuring the success of others. They understand that they only succeed if others succeed. Their focus on ensuring the success of others results in them being an effective school leader. Stakeholders value the dedication of teacher leaders to meeting their needs and providing support and resources to ensure overall success.
(Week of 08.03.2016) Teacher Leadership is much more than just labeling a teacher is a leader. Teacher leadership is about empowering teachers to be leaders in school, including them in the decision-making process, an so much more. Teacher leaders want to be involved in helping the school improve by working behind the scenes to empower others to be leaders and serving others – providing resources and support to ensure the success of students. Teacher leaders serve to help the school remained focused on ALL students experience success.
(Week of 07.27.2016) Teacher Leaders are school leaders with a passion to serve others. They look for opportunities to help and empower others. They take the time to build relationships with stakeholders that will lead to positive outcomes for students. Furthermore, teacher leaders coach and mentor others to work through obstacles and use setbacks as learning opportunities. Teacher leaders are visionary, servant leaders who inspire others to take risks and challenge the status quo by removing the fear of failure.
(Week of 07.20.2016) Teacher leaders are critical players, in fact, critical leaders in creating a school culture built on continuous improvement. Teacher leaders model the expectation that everyone can grow and must engage in professional learning to reach new levels in professional practice. More importantly, they encourage others to commit to continuous improvement as a means to help students reach new levels of achievement and success. They model the understanding that success, quality and high performance are not a destination but an ongoing journey.
(Week of 07.13.2016) Teacher leaders are data-driven transformative school leaders. They help others to utilize data to identify gaps in learning, as well as, areas of high-performance. Teacher leaders coach and mentor others to build upon successes in order to close any gaps in the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, they help teachers to utilize data to grow as teachers, improving professional practice and aligning the teaching and learning process to the needs of students.
(Week of 07.06.2016) Teacher leaders have a spark that is truly contagious in schools. Teacher leaders are transformative leaders who inspire others to push the boundaries for student success. As teacher leaders model the expectation of innovation and creativity in their classrooms, other teachers also become innovative and creative. Teacher leaders inspire and empower others to be great. They take the fear of failure away by helping others to view failures as learning opportunities to become better teachers and leaders for students.
(Week of 06.29.2016) School administrators are not solely responsible for growing and empowering teacher leaders. Teachers also share in this responsibility. Teachers must want to be leaders in order to be empowered to be leaders. They must look for opportunities to lead and be part of the decision-making process. Teachers should volunteer to lead professional learning communities or facilitate professional learning opportunities. They lead by taking a lead in their own empowerment!
(Week of 06.22.2016) Teacher leaders exist formally and informally in schools. Often, schools focus on empowering teacher leaders to be formal leaders – like department chairs and lead teachers. However, the majority of teacher leaders are informal leaders – those teachers who lead informal professional learning communities, advocate for students, and mentor both new and veteran teachers. A teacher leader does not need a designation to be a leader, only an opportunity!
(Week of 06.15.2016) Teacher leadership is not a one-size fits all style of leadership. Teacher leadership is about meeting the needs of students, teachers, the school and the greater school community. It is important for schools to create a culture of teacher leadership that is geared toward the needs of stakeholders. In other words, customize teacher leadership to meet the needs of your school and stakeholders, don’t settle for a cookie-cutter approach to something as important as teacher leadership.
(Week of 06.08.2016) Educators often fail to see the best things in life – the free stuff. Teacher leadership is free and available to all schools. Teacher leadership only requires school administrators who are willing to empower teachers and teachers who are willing to lead. The best things in life are free and teacher leadership is no different. Teacher leadership, as discovered by millions, is the glue that holds things together, the thing that can move a good school to a great school, and take student achievement and professional practice to new levels.
(Week of 06.01.2016) Teacher leaders are constantly seeking ways to expand their reach in school, throughout the district and in the community. They understand that their effectiveness as a leader depends on their ability to connect the school’s stakeholders. Collaboration and teamwork is essential to teacher leadership and the overall effectiveness of the school. Furthermore, they use teamwork and collaboration to empower others to be leaders in school.
(Week of 05.25.2016) The key to teacher leadership is creating opportunities for teachers to be leaders. As schools are increasingly becoming more complex, school administrators must empower teachers to be part of the decision-making process. Furthermore, empower teachers to be coaches/mentors to other teachers, facilitators of professional learning communities and leading the formation of partnerships with the greater school community.
(Week of 05.18.2016) Teacher leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, teacher leaders bring diverse perspectives to the table, from their various experiences as a teacher. As school administrators seek out teachers to be leaders, it is important to understand to evaluate each teacher based on his or her experiences, talents and skills. School administrators must look for teachers who have the desire to be leaders and have the skills and talents that are best aligned to the needs of the students, teachers and school. But more importantly, every teacher can bring something to the table that can help move the school forward – when given the opportunity to lead.
(Week of 05.11.2016) Teacher leaders lead by empowering others to be leaders in school. They are effective servant leaders who lead with a clear focus on improving student achievement by improving professional practice. Teacher leaders find clarity in their role by leading from the classroom and providing support and resources to others. They are passionate about empowering others to lead and succeed.