Teacher Leadership is not about “teacher power.” Instead, it is about mobilizing the largely untapped skills and expertise of teachers to strengthen a locally tailored kind of shared leadership in the daily life of the school. Teachers must be an essential part of the school leadership component, especially when issues of instructional leadership that require ownership are at stake. The Teacher Leader program assists teachers in acquiring the skill set that responds to the following:

  • How can we create the “professional community engaged in learning” that research shows is essential to peak school and student performance?
  • How can we create school environments where each student is knowingly treated as an individual?
  • What can be done to increase the quality of teachers and enhance the professionalism of teaching and teachers?
  • How can the necessary bridge be made between challenging academic standards and accountability and the practical realities of the classroom?
  • What can be done to ensure that state and national policies to reform education are informed by the realities of the school and classroom and enhance the probability of successful policy/reform implementation?

MISD Teacher Leader Focus:

Teacher Leader as a Facilitator
  • Conducting Effective Meetings
  • Facilitating Change
  • Coaching
  • Modeling the 7 Norms of Collaboration

Teacher Leader as a Team Player
  • Being a Team Builder
  • Being a Key Communicator
  • Being a Collaborator
  • Being a Mentor
  • Modeling Interdependence
  • Embracing Flexibility

Teacher Leader as an Instructor
  • Growing your Craftsmanship
  • Living Efficacy
  • Practicing Facilitation

Teacher Leader as a School Improvement Agent
  • AYP
  • MI-SAS
  • Education YES!
  • School Improvement Framework
  • State and County Initiatives
  • Comprehensive Needs Assessment