District Leader

The T3 (Turnaround Teacher Teams) Initiative at Teach Plus represents an innovative approach to recruiting, developing, and supporting teachers to serve in high-need schools. The T3 Initiative currently partners with schools in Massachusetts and Tennessee.

This paper, by Rachel Curtis of Human Capital Strategies for Urban Schools, gives examples of school systems that have created unique teacher career pathways as part of a larger vision to transform the culture of teaching and learning within schools. Through these profiles, Curtis outlines a process to help school systems develop new roles for teachers and create and implement systems and structures to support teacher leadership efforts.

There is a growing acceptance, indeed enthusiasm, among policymakers and education leaders for a heightened teacher role in leading a stronger profession. More than 60 colleges now offer master’s programs in teacher leadership. Smart, dynamic, motivated teachers fear stagnating in their growth, and teacher leadership positions provide avenues to pursue new skills and interests while remaining in the classroom.

The job of “teacher” in most schools today remains centered on full-time classroom responsibilities that are defined by the location, timing, and schedule of the school day and a one-teacher-per-classroom model. But particularly in today’s budget climate, interest in quality-focused job redesigns is increasing among forward-thinking state, district, and charter school leaders. This report, prepared by Public Impact for the Center for American Progress, profiles two organizations—the Rocketship Education network of charter schools and the Fairfax County, Virginia, school district.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (North Carolina) established the Strategic Staffing Initiative, which moves teams of administrators and teachers to high-need schools. Under this initiative, effective principals are identified and allowed to select effective members of their current staffs to take with them to a high-need school. 

To create a support system for teachers, Adams 12 School District in Thornton, Colorado, introduced “student-achievement coaches.” This article describes the initiative's coaching, considerations in starting a teacher-coaching program, and some of the experiences of Adams 12 and other districts that have implemented coaching policies. 

Drawing on research for a doctoral dissertation, this report examines the design of the Center for Educational Leadership’s professional development coaching program. The multiple layers of a coaching cycle are outlined, and the conditions that result in instructional improvement are described.

This report from The Education Trust provides recommendations to improve teacher evaluation policies in a way that fairly and comprehensively measures performance and provides a focus on professional growth. 

This resource defines what it means to have a vision and presents different points of view related to goals, action options, and implementation pitfalls that may be encountered when building a collective vision. It can be a useful tool for school leaders interested in defining school culture. 

The Rossier School of Education offers advanced degree and professional development programs both online and on-campus, including a master of education in advanced instruction, that specifically aim to strengthen the knowledge and skills of current teachers and administrators who work or wish to work in urban schools. Rossier students specialize in one of four areas: special education (differing abilities); elementary or secondary science, technology, engineering, or mathematics education; or secondary humanities.