Sharing Good Practice
TEACHERS AS LEADERS
BY LORETTA SANDERS
I
believe it was 2004…I was teaching
second grade at a school in
Fayetteville, North Carolina and
Deborah Johnson was my principal.
I wanted to pursue my master’s degree
in school leadership. Ms. Johnson
decided that if I was to pursue my
master’s degree in leadership, I should
have experience. I can remember her
molding me into a leader.
She gave me my first opportunities.
While I was still in the classroom, she
began putting me in charge of menial
tasks, like making sure the science
department had all they needed.
I was also a member of the school
improvement team. As the next
school year progressed, I was elected
chairperson of the school improvement
team. The team was comprised of
various members of the school:
leaders and school administration,
as well as other stakeholders. I was
in charge and the first task was to
update the school improvement plan.
The school improvement plan was an
80-page document, front and back.
As I went before the teachers to tell
them we had to edit the document,
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they complained that they were tired
and wanted to go home. I went back
to Ms. Johnson, who was in the room
behind the wall listening to everything.
She said to me, “either they do it or
you’re going to do it”. That was the
moment when I began my journey
into leadership. I realise now that, she
trusted me to take care of something
that was very important, because we
had to turn it in, to the County when
finished. It was in that moment that
she began to groom me for leadership.
At the time, I was a third year teacher.
Today, I look back and I’m grateful for
the experience.
Teacher leaders are so very important
in education. By incorporating teacher
leadership into a school setting, you
give teachers the opportunity to feel
like they belong, you give teachers a
place where they can say, “I helped
build this thing”. Teacher leaders are
the protectors of your curriculum.
They are the ones that can work
with new teachers, so they feel more
comfortable. They can also be the
mediators between the staff and
administration; keeping an open line
of communication.
Class Time
It is one thing for us as teachers to
have to work for someone and do as
directed, but it is something else to be
given the opportunity to actually have
a say in what goes on in the school.
This can be a key factor in motivating
teachers to stay in the profession, at a
time when teacher retention rates are
decreasing rapidly world wide
So, who is a Teacher Leader? In a recent
study conducted by Torren & Bose,
Teacher Leadership was described as
not being in charge of everything in
the school, instead it was described
as working together to help promote
a common goal and working toward
the betterment and the development
of students.
There are four different types of
leadership: The Model, The Mentor,
The Observer and The Coach.
The Model
This person is a great communicator.
They can model lessons for their
peers. They can co-teach, have very
good lesson planning skills, they have
strong pedagogy and they are willing
to listen to their peers. Overall, they