Essay on Educational Leadership Roles

As with the importance of selecting a highly qualified principal to help raise test scores and closing achievement gaps, the selection and support of staff is also critical. Gregory F. Branch, Eric A. Hanushek, and Steven G. Rivkin’s 2013 study “School Leaders Matter” examined the effectiveness of many principles’ leadership and the effect they had on student achievement ratings. “A primary channel through which principals can be expected to improve the quality of education is by raising the quality of teachers, either by improving the instruction provided by existing teachers or through teacher transitions that improve the caliber of the school’s workforce” (Branch, pg.4). A principal must be able to continually seek out professional development, to research best practices and new educational theories to support their staff and students. If principals are to close the achievement gap, they must be willing to inform and instruct their staff on new teaching strategies. Mr. Canada, from his TED talk, “Our failing schools. Enough is enough!”, states: “You go into a place that has failed kids for fifty years and say: ‘so what’s the plan?’ And they say: ‘Well, we are going to do what we did last year, this year’. What kind of business model is that?” (TED, 2013). The principal willing to venture into new, uncharted waters may succeed or fail, but at least they

2). The authors explain that in the 1990s when the first edition of their book was published, the term “teacher leadership” was generally unfamiliar within the educational community. The authors state that “by helping teachers recognize that they are leaders, by offering opportunities to develop their leadership skills, and by creating school cultures that honor their leadership, we can awaken this sleeping giant of teacher leadership” (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2009, p. 3). During their study of teacher leadership, Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009), discovered that teachers are unwilling to be identified as teacher leaders due to the following: 1) lack of a supportive environment for the development of teacher leaders, 2) insecurities about their abilities to provide leadership for adults, and 3) at some schools, the tendency to treat all teachers alike, which can dishearten teachers from assuming leadership roles. Based on this information, the need to provide support and recognition for those teachers who are willing to step up and undertake leadership roles is important for schools and districts that wish to enhance the development of teacher leaders. Without these elements in place, one would assume that teacher leadership practices would not be prevalent. Nevertheless, providing a supportive environment and tapping into the numerous areas of expertise of those who make up the largest portion of the educational workforce, one can understand the potential impact of what Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009) refer to as “the sleeping giant” of teacher leadership. However, to determine if this is

New Leadership Roles for Teachers and Administrators: The core teaching standards have new and higher expectations for teachers like around leadership. Teachers are considered responsible for the learning of all students, and are expected to see themselves as leaders right from when their career begins and advocate for the needs of each student. They also have a responsibility to actively investigate and consider new ideas to improve teaching and learning and to advance the

This past school year I have been social chair of Nursing Students Without Borders. I have organized, implemented and hosted social events throughout the Fall of 2016 and the Spring of 2017. This past year the leadership of NSWB has worked to make NSWB community focused which is why the position I held was added this past year. I have been able to mentor a pre-nursing student through NSWB. I was able to answer the questions honestly from a pre-nursing student and provide support during the application process. I have been able to participate in leadership meetings and have learned how to plan well and how to improve event planning.

The Kentucky Leadership Framework defines teacher leaders as those who “transform their classrooms, schools, and profession, activating teacher growth and achieving equity and excellence for students” (Kentucky Teacher Leadership Work Team, 2015, p. 4). Therefore, the definition of what it means to be a teacher leader can be found in a review of relevant literature; yet, their roles can be unclear within the schools (Angelle and Schmid, 2007). Jacobs, Gordon, and Solis (2016) point out that when “teacher-leaders’ roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined, misunderstanding, conflict, and resentment can result” (p. 399). In addition, a study of 672 participants revealed that teacher perceptions regarding teacher leadership can vary based on school grade configurations—elementary, middle, and high (Angelle and DeHart, 2011). According to Angelle and Schmidt (2007), “As we work to provide precision to the term teacher leadership, we look to widen the level of understanding of this critical component of school reform at all levels” (p.

Who school leaders are – what they do, attend to, or seem to appreciate is constantly watched by students, teachers, parents, and members of the community. Their interests and actions send powerful messages. They signal the values they hold. Above all else, leaders are cultural “teachers” in the best sense of the word. (Deal & Peterson, 1990, p. 201)

The first NC Standard states that teachers need to demonstrate leadership. Leadership means that one leads by example, shows respect and motivates people to do their best. This kind of leadership can be in the classroom or outside of the classroom. It also has to do with working with your fellow teachers to make sure your students have to the best education experience one can give them. When I was at Sunset Park and Codington elementary schools, I saw the teachers show leadership in similar and different ways. Both teachers showed leadership by working with other teachers. At Sunset Park, the two teachers did lessons on butterflies then released the butterflies at then need of the week. Through the respect the two teachers showed each other, their students were able to see an

Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. This quote by Tom Peters best summarizes my philosophy of teacher leadership. As a teacher leader, it is up to me to inspire, direct, and encourage others so that stronger teacher, administrative, and student leaders may be born from the process. Teacher leadership involves collaboration between teachers, administrators, and teacher leaders with the goal of positively impacting the student learning environment. With student learning as the ultimate objective, teacher leadership “becomes an indispensable avenue for school improvement” (Coggins & McGovern, 2014, p. 21). So how do I as a teacher leader begin this process? I believe that teacher leadership can be achieved through three means: modeling, mentoring, and collaborating.

In this paper, I will reflect on my new knowledge and skills that I have acquired regarding teacher leadership, supportive communication and collaboration. I will also reflect on practical application of these skills, such as assessing the needs, problems or issues, and creating the action plan to address the issues. In the end, I will define how teacher leadership can positively affect student learning and achievement.

I always thought I would be a teacher and I would make differences in lives and it would be the greatest experience in the world for me, yet being a teacher wasn’t enough, I had a need to expand my education. I decided that perhaps I needed a new career, however, I felt certain education remained my passion. I began to explore new areas of education and I realized I still want to be a member of a classroom, a school and curriculum. I aspire to guide those leading our classrooms.

Create a personal, professional mission statement summarizing philosophy, knowledge and skills of instructional supervision from which to guide future leadership actions.

Masters of Arts in educational leadership is a study field that interested me deciding on the master program to pursue (Green, 2010). The program is essential in academic institutions since it views leadership as a relational process. In other words, it has an all-inclusive attitude towards people and their diverse points of views sharing a common goal and vision among individuals in the institution. The strong interest and desire of pursuing the art program resulted from the interest of understanding the cultural aspects of people that leads to their diversified points of view. Additional interests in educational leadership arose from the increased urge of expounding knowledge on leadership. Furthermore, based on the dynamic nature of the modern society, pursuing the master program aimed at understanding different management styles and required skills for these styles (Green, 2010). The discussion paper has the objective of expounding and reflecting on the different aspects of educational leadership learnt in the MA in educational leadership program.

Over the years, I have worn many educator hats such as a Director of Resource, classroom teacher, Head Start teacher, special’s teacher, and as a teacher’s aide. My leadership experiences have not been ones in an administrative role, but I have had leadership experiences both informal and formal in nature. My years as a professional educator with a Virginia Collegiate Professional license has allowed me to teach in public settings as well as Catholic schools, at many different grade levels and for me, all of those experiences have influenced my leadership skills.

When a collaborative conversation is initiated in the school setting between the teachers and the head administrators it is imperative for effective communication and trust to play major roles. The components of collaborative leadership are

Effective school leadership today must combine the traditional school leadership duties such as teacher evaluation, budgeting, scheduling, and facilities maintenance with a deep involvement with specific aspects of teaching and learning. Effective instructional leaders are intensely involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Cotton, 2003). The writer of this paper acknowledges that school principals should play the role of instructional leaders, not just a school manager. The reality is that are many demands on a principals time and management skills making it difficult for most of them to spend time in classrooms, when performing teacher evaluation. Principals often make sure that teachers