Over the next few weeks, I will be blogging about how, as school administrators (school-based and district-based), can Lead a Hurricane in our schools. No one can question the fact that public education is increasingly being scrutinized – whether it is student achievement, school budgets, tenure, the common core and so many other things. However, one thing that is often overlooked is the opportunity that we, ourselves, can be the disrupters, which many of our elected officials (state and national) are desperately seeking. In fact, we too (school administrators) want disruptors who care about student success. How – By leading a Hurricane, can we truly disrupt public education? Did you know that there is a positive reason for Hurricanes? Hurricanes vent off heat from the atmosphere. Just think about the constant heat public education receives on a daily basis – constantly being asked to solve all of the public’s problems and blamed for just about everything that goes wrong. We have not reached a point that we need to “vent off heat from the atmosphere.”
The Hurricane that I am speaking about is Teacher Leadership. Teacher leadership is nothing new; in fact, teacher leaders have been in our schools for decades. However, as schools and school leaders are facing increasing complexities, teacher leadership is being reexamined in many of our schools and school districts. There are even movements across the United States where teachers are empowered to be the sole leaders in school, no principal, no headmaster, just teacher leaders. However, for our conversation, I am speaking about the “traditional” model of teacher leadership, if you can attach the term “traditional” with teacher leadership. Teacher leadership, by itself, is transformative. Schools and districts that have a strong culture of teacher leadership also experience high student achievement, low teacher turnover and more support from parents and the community. Teachers are empowered to be leaders to transform the school landscape. Teacher leaders disrupt the traditional structures and bureaucracies that continue to plague schools and districts.
In regards to teacher leadership and disrupting the status quo, the public education system does, in fact, have the ability to reform itself. We have to realize and come to grips that the average tenure of a school principal and superintendent is 3 to 5 years and it shrinks with each passing year. As school administrators, to make change happen, we have to grow the capacity within our schools/districts – by distributing the decision-making and leadership to others – particularly teacher leaders. For a great offense and defense, we need several waves of teacher leaders, not just a bench full. As we empower one group of teachers to be leaders, we need to be growing another group of teachers to be leaders. Just like the various rain bands that are part of a hurricane, we need waves of teachers stepping into leadership roles and bring new energy to public education.
As school administrators, we must begin to grow and empower teacher leaders. We have to empower teachers not only to be leaders in our school but also to truly be a disrupting force, a hurricane, for student success. We often forget that teacher leadership is not just about placing teachers in leadership roles – but actually, improving student success. The purpose of teacher leadership is to make sure that students succeed – creating systems, leading transformation and removing barriers and obstacles designed to derail the educational process.
The focus of this blog is about discussing how to grow, understand and empower teacher leadership. I would invite you to register for the Leading a Hurricane: Growing and Empowering Teacher Leaders workshop hosted by KASA, on March 10th in Frankfort. The Leading a Hurricane workshop will provide participants critical strategies that can be utilized during a 7-step teacher growth process. No matter the size of school or school district, teacher leaders are needed. Teacher leaders help to strengthen the school’s leadership capacity and long-term vision. This is an ideal professional development opportunity for school administrators that are ready to create a culture of collaborative leadership. School and district teams are encouraged to attend. Cost $29.
Register at www.kasa.org or call (800) 928-5272 (Friday, March 10th - 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 pm ET)(6 Hrs of EILA Credit available)