Roberta's Journey

Nix, S. J. (2008). Out of the Hallway, into the Classroom. Principal Leadership, 8(7), 28-31

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

In this chapter, Fullan begins by maintaining that principals who are effective lead learners are necessarily also good managers, because they understand that having clear routines is essential for school improvement.” (57) He quotes from Viviane Robinson’s Student-Centered Leadership to both underscore the previous point and emphasize that successful principals take an active learning stance: “The principal who makes the biggest impact on learning is the one who attends to other matters as well, but, most important, ‘participates as a learner’ with teachers in helping move the school forward.” (58) Fullan also borrows from Helen Timperley’s work in responding to the question, Who is in a principal’s class? The principal’s class consists of “team leaders who in turn can leverage the learning of other teachers in their group”

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.

Gloria Ladson-Billings spent time observing teachers in public schools that were located in predominately low-socioeconomic school districts to figure out what makes them successful with typically low performing students. Some of the things she observed are all the teachers “shared pride in and commitment to their profession and had an underlying belief that all children could be successful” (learnnc). Furthermore, these teachers established trusting relationships with their students that allowed the students to take responsibility for their own learning. Lastly, these teachers also went beyond the classroom to show support for their students such as attending community events. These observations led Ladson-Billings to realize that in order for “teachers to use culturally relevant pedagogy successfully, they must also show respect for students, and understand the need for the students to operate in the dual worlds of their home community and the

Modeling is crucial for teacher leadership. In my twenty-three years as an educator, I have learned that the best way for me to teach others is by first modeling the practices myself. As a teacher leader, it is important that I model sound, professional characteristics to gain the respect of others. I have to maintain a positive, inclusive environment for all stakeholders of the learning community. This begins in the classroom by using scientifically-based, differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse populations of learners. In addition, this modeling continues to fellow colleagues and administrators by demonstrating a passion for educating myself, as well as others.

Strategies that are in place are teachers and administration walk-through with feedback for growth. The school also provides support for teachers whose performance was

Teachers never have enough time to accomplish all of the things that they are responsible for during a day. However, it is important for them to have personal performance goals formulated around managing, engaging, and growing students. Establishing goals and working on them systematically throughout the school year with guidance from administration allows for professional growth throughout the school building. One of my many take-aways from the book Leverage Leadership was that great teachers use data driven instruction, receive a lot of feedback, and consistently focus on short and long-term performance goals (Bambrick-Santoyo, 2012).

Making sure that every teacher has the ability, skill, motivation , and desire to do the job is considered essential. When implementing a plan or transforming a culture an educational leader must have full executive support, an effective communication plan, full employee involvement, thorough organizational planning and completive analysis, and a widespread perceived need for the strategic planning.

I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .

Administrators and teachers must work together to develop the PLC plan addressing the needs of their students. This means administrators need to trust teachers and allow them to work in a way that is autonomous from leadership. Delegating more responsibilities to staff was a way of creating a more knowledgeable community that could cope with the diversity of demands created by schools moving from being relatively simple organizations to highly complex ones. It was also recognized as in accord with the rhetoric of distributed leadership recommended as a strategy for school improvement and raising pupil attainment (Bolam et al. 2005, Webb, et al.

Professional development principles Ben embraces are Rigor, Relationships, Relevance and Realness. Mr. Rhodes continually emphasizes that work needs to have relevance and rigor in assignments and that the relationships teachers build with students is essential for success. Specific content used for staff development goals are Glenn Singleton’s work (Equity), National Achievement Gap, High Performing Schools, 90/90/90 Studies, 21st Century Skills, Marzano’s Instructional Strategies, and Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ literacy work. A variety of activities for teaching new skills to teachers occurs throughout the year. These include study groups, guest speakers, ERO (staff development classes), open classroom visits, master teachers sharing best practices in literacy, differentiated instruction, , math, and culturally responsive teaching, conference opportunities, mentors, district content area inservices, building inservice days, monthly district content area meetings, partnerships with universities, Collaborative Action Research for Equity (C.A.R.E.) cadre, and monthly building equity meetings. Mr. Rhodes uses the district Teaching Learning Cycle (Plan-Teach-Monitor- Adjust) to evaluate and assess the learning goals and make improvements. Ben also meets with Ben and the leadership team about the goals and creates the timeline to provide training and analyze progress. Evaluation of the learning goals using the SIP (as a living document) and individual goals are important

In terms of becoming a mediator and consensus builder the authors detailed the need for principals to possess relational leadership skills in order to be able to both facilitate groups and coach others on staff in the ability to facilitate their own groups, and stressed that the key to this is the ability to effectively participate in conflict resolution (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009). The authors suggested that conflict is part and parcel of school reform and that in addition to being able to deal effectively with conflict the successful principal needs to develop the ability for bringing about consensus within the group, noting that interpersonal and intrapersonal skills were as much or more important than knowledge (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009).

In a well-researched and scholarly book, Doctors Joesph and Jo Blase accomplish two tasks: outlining how principals should apply instructional leadership skills while performing their jobs, and describing how principals should maintain positive relationships with their teachers while still effectively leading. As well published, credentialed authors in the field of educational leadership, the both of the Blases serve as credible sources on the topic. To accomplish their desired tasks, the authors divide the book into brief chapters that each explain either an attribute of instructional leadership or a method for maintaining positive principal-teacher relations. According to the authors themselves, the book’s shows “what successful instructional leaders do to enhance teaching and learning and the effects that their behaviors have on teachers’ performance and well-being” (xiii). Through the authors’ careful organization of research, use of primary sources, and use of secondary sources, the book accomplishes this goal.

The principal must have knowledge and understanding of effective communication strategies when collaborating with staff, educators, and students (O 'Connor & Jackson, 2017). The teacher’s morale is ultimately impacted by the principal 's open-line of communication; therefore, the school environment affects how the principal is perceived by the teachers and staff morale can influence student learning. However, the principal should focus on developing a collaborative relationship among the teachers, which foster new ways of exchanging view points and ideas (Whyte & Karabon, 2016). The principal plays a major role in how effective the vision or goals are followed by subordinates. In other words, how the perception of the principal ethical and values are aligned with the teachers. Hence, collaboration in schools is, the result of teachers and principals working together for the end results, which are student’s high achievement in learning. When the skillful principals and the sagacious educators “walk the talk” effective leadership and the strategic guidance is a must in the collaborative community of succeed.