How I Begin As A Head Teacher

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

Achieving a school district’s mission and vision requires the commitment of its stakeholders. In order to involve them in the process, it is necessary for educational leaders to “motivate staff, parents, students, board and community members” (Educational Leadership Constituencies Council, 2002, p. 4). The transformational leadership theory emphasizes the importance of educational leaders acting as role-models in order to motivate and inspire the school community. This approach has the potential to involve all stakeholders, leading to increased student success (Bush, 2007). The Assistant Director of Special Education in Northwest ISD directly supervised the school district’s assessment staff. Her education, experience, and passion set an example for her subordinates, stimulating them to achieve more, leading to her promotion to Executive Director of Student Services.

This portfolio seeks to critically reflect on my engagement with the Teach First Leadership Development Program (TFLDP) and how the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) offered as part of the program has influenced my current and future classroom practice. The TFLDP is the official title given to the training program that all Teach First participants are expected to complete. The program is two years in duration, throughout which, participants are offered various forms CPD, all of which falls under three broad headings; Leading Self, Leading People and Leading Learning. In this assignment, I will focus on how, in conjunction with Teach First support staff and CPD opportunities, I have addressed two of the three key strands; Leading Learning and Leading people. The first strand I will focus on is Leading Learning. I will describe how I worked with my Leadership Development Officer and Educational Consultant to engage passive learners by introducing cooperative learning into the classroom, I will critically reflect on the progress we made towards the vision I created. Secondly, I will focus on how a session forced me to address the wider issues facing my students outside of the classroom and the work that I have done with the East Midlands Action Network (EMAN) to make progress towards providing Socio-economically disadvantaged children with enriching experiences.

The ethos, mission, aims and values of a school is normally based on the beliefs and feelings of a school and can be felt in the school’s atmosphere, They should be recognizable when entering the school environment as it should be part of the school’s everyday activities and part of the daily practice of both staff and pupils. School policies are in place to ensure that children are at the centre of everything, reward systems to celebrate achievement in both academic and non-academic areas. There is a school council where pupils’ voices are heard and they can make positive changes to the school, this gives them a sense of pride in the school and enhances the positive atmosphere. Assemblies are led in a way and the school works together .The school has strong links with the local vicar and church family. Through the church, the

I developed my leadership skills throughout the 2008-2009 school year. I worked alongside the principal, lead teacher, system superintendent and other stakeholders. I attended meetings ranging from building layout and infrastructure, to technology planning for classroom, to collections and materials for the media center as well as throughout the school. In the spring of 2009, I joined what would later become our leadership team for the opening of the new school. Not only did this team design the framework of policies under which our school would operate, we created our motto and mission statement. In addition to the local aspect of planning, I also met with leaders at the

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.

Leadership is a sociocultural construct underpinned by the beliefs and values of a society (Waniganayake, Cheeseman, Fenech, Hadley, & Shepherd, 2012). Leadership in early childhood have shifted the focus from one designated leader into a more collective approach – distributed leadership, which is not about delegating. As Cheeseman (2012) states, in early childhood settings, attention is often directed at administrative and management leadership (Waniganayake et al., 2012); however it is important to have a designated leader in the areas of development and implementation of curriculum and pedagogy – being the educational leader as a requirement of the National Quality Framework – whilst at the same time see educational leadership as a

Prior to coming to Hoke County, Dr. Williamson had already served in a plethora of diverse roles in his educational career (e.g., teacher, assistant principal, vocational-educational director, principal, director of secondary and middle school education, director of personnel, associate superintendent, and a boys and girls basketball coach), therefore becoming a superintendent was inevitable; the school board knew he could advance the Hoke County’s School System, however the “key” was: he was a willing vessel.

Rhonda Haus started her career in the secondary school system where she has seen and been a part of many changes. She gave a unique perspective into Regina Public Schools and highlight the systems specific goals along with their successes and failures. Underlining it all was her message to put the students and to provide the best education for all kids. These goals were measurable and attainable. Kaylan Gazda spoke about the elementary school system and her experience in a variety of grades and schools. Her time in an experimental classroom and in another country provided many challenges. However, those challenges and obstacles made her a better teacher for her current job in a split classroom. Jordan McFarlan was able to provide insight in process of building a new program in a high school from the ground up. He was able to list challenges he faced and ways to respond to those challenges. Jesamy Unger presented what is was it is like to be a student taking education and the lessons she learned throughout her journey. She gave us useful advice for our field experiences and the tip that not everything you need to know about being a teacher will be taught in school. Every member of the panel highlighted you need to make relationships and networks with students, colleagues and even

For this experience, I chose to visit an elementary school and its feeder middle school. I chose this because students leave this elementary school with a high rate of student achievement, yet in middle school the scores plummet. I wanted to investigate how this gap could be minimized. Comparing philosophies, expectations and leadership styles for schools within the same community was also a goal.

Throughout this book, Sergiovanni is attempting to reframe the role of leadership in a school from an old paradigm focused on management and control and the view that a school is a formal organization, to a new paradigm of empowerment through caring, acknowledging the expertise of teachers and students, and facilitating their active participation in the school.

As the leader of a 21st century school one must embody the qualities that best reflect the ever-changing face of education. Traditionally, the leader of a school focused a large portion of time and energy on typical managerial functions within the school. These tasks, although important, will not propel a school to achieve excellence. Today’s school leaders must be visionaries who create a sense of purpose driven unity. As a transformational leader, one must also be the beacon of learning in establishing and effectively cultivating professional learning communities. One must recognize and further develop the leadership skills of those within the school in order to ensure the vision and mission of the school is achieved. Keeping in

The first week of this unit I had a mix of emotions, excitement and stress . The topics covered each week have giving me the opportunity to increase my knowledge in many areas. Having an interest in teaching when I started this course has now grown to having an interest in learning as well. Reflecting on my education as a child has shown me the growth in teaching and our current education system.

The night before my first day as a teacher I was scared. It was something totally different for me; it was something I had never done before. Yes, I have made some microteachings at the university, but that was not the same as been in an actual classroom with kids observing you and waiting for you to teach them something. In my head, there were questions such as What am I going to do? What should I tell to the kids? Is this how it is supposed to be done?

The concept and practice of teacher leadership have gained momentum in the past two decades. Teachers are assuming more leadership functions at both instructional and organizational levels of practice. Empirical literature reveals effects of teacher leadership practice, teacher leader characteristics, and conditions that promote and challenge teacher leadership.