But I’m not sure we’ve figured out how to tap into the leadership potential of expert teachers without removing them from the work of teaching. This is a major concern of mine. I am now the Curriculum Specialist in my school. I reluctantly agreed to accept this position last year. My principal was the only administrator on our K-8 campus, and she needed a helping hand. However, to accept this position, I had to leave the classroom. Too often, teachers only become school leaders when they are taken out of the classroom—and when they try to lead from the classroom, they rarely get the release time they need to perform extra duties. They quickly burn out.
I watched this first hand a few years ago as a young colleague in my school began to show strong leadership qualities and started to wear many hats. After several years of being the person who served on all the committees, planned major events, and wrote many of the school plans—while still trying to teach a full load—she was ready to quit the profession. Public schools are embracing the idea of teachers as leaders, but often we have failed to create a structure that makes this possible without overwhelming them or taking away their teacher identity. It is time for schools to consider such practices as job sharing, release time, and sabbaticals, and to make such practices a regular part of the way they “do school.”
Q: On what issues do you think it’s most important for teachers to assert themselves as leaders?
A: I believe our first duty as teacher leaders is to seek ways to improve learning in our schools. A teacher who is an excellent classroom instructor leads by modeling the art of effective teaching. Teacher leaders should seek opportunities to work cooperatively with colleagues and parents in ways that will help make schools a collaborative enterprise. Teacher leaders have an obligation to be a voice for children. It took many years of teaching to understand the importance of using my teacher voice. This realization came to me one summer when I helped with a mission project in a small rural south Alabama town. Our project was to paint a local armory that was to be used for after-school tutoring. I was shocked at the conditions in which these children were expected to learn—poor facilities, a lack of materials, weak leadership, and low expectations. Although I had always taught in a Title I school, I truly had never seen poverty like we found in this area. I realized that as a professional educator, I had to become a voice for children who are so often overlooked by the system.
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