 |
Role Group Strategies: Community, Teachers,
Principals, District
Office, Policymakers
Community
Engage
policymakers in conversations related to the importance of
creating opportunities for advancement within the teaching profession.
Advocate for models such as the
Teacher Advancement Program, the Douglas County (CO)
Outstanding Teacher Program and the Rochester (NY) Career in
Teaching Program.
 |
|
Outstanding
Teacher Program
Douglas County School System
http://www1.dcsdk12.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/DCSD.woa/10/wa/staticPage?
wosid=YHatM8nNWmkq3v1tWQDrXg&pageName=hr_lic_PerfPay
The
Douglas County School System, just outside of
Denver, Colorado, was one of the first school systems
in America to adopt a pay for performance plan in the
recent wave of school reform. This website outlines the pay for performance
plan and describes the district's
Outstanding Teacher Program, in which teachers create
portfolios documenting their accomplishments in the
classroom. The
detailed descriptions of these portfolios provide schools and communities with
adaptable tools to use to improve their own teacher
evaluation systems.
|
|
|
District
Profile: A
Commitment to Craft, Rochester (N.Y.) City School
District Career in Teaching Program
Scarpa,
S. (n.d.) District
Administration Magazine.
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=743
The
Rochester City School District established a Career in
Teaching Program over 16 years ago with the support of
the Rochester Teachers’ Association.
This comprehensive overview of the program
explains the mentoring
and peer review components of the program, as well as
the levels that have been created within the teaching
profession in Rochester.
|
 |
|
Teacher Advancement Program
Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/tap.taf
Recognizing
that American schools were failing to attract and
retain highly qualified teachers to their classrooms,
the Milken Family Foundation developed a program known
as the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) to increase
teaching quality in schools.
The program outlines three career positions
teachers advance through while staying in the
classroom: career, mentor, and master teacher.
It restructures the school day to provide teachers
time for professional learning and collaboration and
rewards teachers with a performance-based compensation
system. The website describes the program in
detail, lists states with TAP
schools, and provides answers to frequently asked
questions about the program.
|
 |
|
ASCD
Capwiz Advocacy Toolkit
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. (2004).
http://capwiz.com/ascd/home/
These pages help those interested in education
reform become involved in the policy-making process.
The site provides links to elected officials, tracks
current issues and legislation, and highlights
important elections and candidates.
It also includes a feature that identifies the
major media outlets serving every zip code and allows
users to send an advocacy email directly from this
site.
|
|
|
Making
the Connection: A Guide to Involving Policymakers in a
Community Dialogue on Education
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/policy93/policy93.pdf
Engaging policymakers in dialogue on education is
a practical action step that communities can take to
influence school reform.
This resource provides step by step
instructions on engaging policymakers in dialogue on
education issues. The authors provide a
description of different roles for participants,
advice on how to make the most of participation both
during and after the dialogue, and a recruiting
planner to assist in inviting policymakers to the
discussion.
|
|
|
Calling
the Role: Study
Circles for Better Schools
Pan, D.T. and Mutchler, S.E. (2000).
The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/policy96/callingrole.pdf
Engaging policymakers in conversations with
community members related to school issues is critical
for communities interested in school reform. Many have advocated for the implementation of
community study circles as a strategy for engagement. This policy research report discusses the potential of the study circles
method to enhance communication between policymakers
and the community. The authors describe SEDL's
implementation of the study circles model in their
"Calling the Role" program, review
literature pertaining to deliberative dialogues, and
discuss policymakers' perceptions of the process.
|
Teachers
Accept
leadership roles, both formally and informally, within the
school. Remain
current on issues and policies affecting education, and
build personal leadership capacity by
attending leadership training seminars offered by the
North Carolina Teacher
Academy.
|
|
Principals
who Know How to Share Leadership
Alabama Best Practices Center.
(2004, Spring).
http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/pdfs/wte4-1.pdf
The Spring
2004 issue of "Working Toward Excellence" profiles several
principals who've discovered (some late in their
careers) the power of teacher leadership to revitalize
teaching and learning. The issue also describes the
Alabama Reading Initiative's principal coaching
program, which is helping dozens of principals gain
the confidence, skills and knowledge they need to lead
reforms in literacy instruction.
|
|
|
Leadership
Matters: Building
Leadership Capacity
Barkley,
S., Bottoms, G., Feagin, C.H., and Clark, S.
(2001).
http://www.sreb.org/main/Leadership/pubs/01V18_LeadershipMatters.pdf
This
guide outlines practical strategies for building
leadership capacity in schools that pertain to
administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the
community. It also includes a description of the
importance of establishing a shared vision and a
checklist that can be used to evaluate the supports
that a school has in place to encourage risk-taking by teachers
and administrators.
|
|
|
The
North Carolina Teacher Academy
http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCTA/NCTA/index.htm
Funded
by the North Carolina General Assembly, the North
Carolina Teacher Academy offers week-long professional
development sessions throughout the summer months.
Several of these sessions focus on school
leadership. Teachers
are provided with room and board, continuing education
credits, and an honorarium of $100 per day for
participating.
|
|
|
Redefining
the Teacher as Leader
Usdan,
M., McCloud, B., and Podmostko, M. (2001).
Institute for Educational Leadership.
http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/teachlearn.pdf
This
report examines the potential power in enabling and
encouraging teacher leadership.
It discusses roadblocks to teacher leadership,
shares promising practices from districts around the
country, and provides a list of
“Suggested Questions” that communities can use to
start discussions related to teacher leadership within
their districts.
|
|
|
Coaching
Moves Beyond the Gym:
Successful Site-Based Coaching Offers Lessons
Galm,
R., and Penny, G.S. (2004, Spring). Journal
of Staff Development, 25(2).
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/galm252.cfm
This article from the Journal of Staff
Development outlines the growing practice of using
teacher-leaders within a building to provide on-going
professional development and support to teachers and
highlights the benefits of coaching on student
achievement. A
description of five keys to developing quality coaching
programs provides communities with
a starting point for establishing their own site-based
professional development programs.
|
|
|
Making
Our Own Road:’ The Emergence of School-Based Staff
Developers in America’s Public Schools
Richard,
A. (2003,
May). The Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation
http://www.emcf.org/pdf/student_ourownroad.pdf
School-based
staff developers are becoming increasingly common in
America’s public schools.
These professionals, often former teachers
looking for an opportunity to advance within teaching,
are charged with serving as instructional leaders
within their buildings.
This guide from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation outlines the role of school-based staff
developers. It
provides an overview of the need for such positions, a
description of the kinds of people filling
school-based staff development jobs, several
suggestions about the types of roles that school-based
staff developers can fill within a school, and an
examination of the benefits of school-based staff
development programs.
|
|
|
The
Teacher Leaders Network
The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality
http://www.teacherleaders.org/
This
website, an initiative of the Southeast Center for
Teaching Quality, provides an electronic home for
educators interested in leadership.
Providing resources in areas from coaching and
mentoring to NCLB and action research, this link can
connect teachers to a wealth of professional resources
that empower them to act as leaders in their schools.
|
Teachers
Pursue certification from the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards.
|
|
Teacher
Diary:
On the Road to National Certification
Starr,
L.
(2003, August).
Education World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/diary_2003/teacherdiary.shtml
This website connects to five diaries
written by teachers working through the process of
Board Certification in 2003.
Accompanied by an overview of the process of
Board Certification, these diaries allow readers to
understand the changes that teachers working for
certification undergo and the type of reflection that
the process encourages.
|
|
|
Beginning
the Journey toward National Board Certification
National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2003, August 26).
http://www.nbpts.org/candidates/guide/
This guide from the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards describes the certificates, standards, and
steps involved in the process of National Board
Certification.
|
|
|
NBPTS:
Building better teachers
Starr,
L.
(2004, April).
Education World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat100.shtml
This Education
World interview with Joseph
A. Aguerrebere Jr., President of the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards, outlines the
process of board certification, as well as the
benefits for teachers and students.
It is a brief and informative look at the
potential that board certification has for changing
teaching and learning in America.
|
Teachers
Understand,
support, and advocate for school restructuring models such
as the Teacher Advancement Program, the Denver Professional
Compensation Plan, the Douglas County (CO) Outstanding
Teacher Program and the Rochester (NY) Career in Teaching
Program that create opportunities for advancement within the teaching profession.
|
|
Outstanding
Teacher Program
Douglas County School System
http://www1.dcsdk12.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/DCSD.woa/10/wa/staticPage?
wosid=YHatM8nNWmkq3v1tWQDrXg&pageName=hr_lic_PerfPay
The
Douglas County School System, just outside of
Denver, Colorado, was one of the first school systems
in America to adopt a pay for performance plan in the
recent wave of school reform. This website outlines the pay for performance
plan and describes the district's
Outstanding Teacher Program, in which teachers create
portfolios documenting their accomplishments in the
classroom. The
detailed descriptions of these portfolios provide schools and communities with
adaptable tools to use to improve their own teacher
evaluation systems.
|
|
|
Professional
Compensation System for Teachers
Denver
Public School System.
(2004, April).
http://www.denverteachercompensation.org/ProCompBrochure_4-26-04.pdf
With
the adoption of ProComp, a new compensation system for
teachers, the Denver Public Schools and the Denver
Classroom Teachers Association have become leaders
in revolutionizing the way that teachers are evaluated
and compensated. This
brochure outlines the components of the ProComp plan,
including ways that teachers can advance
within the profession while not leaving the classroom
and a
fictional description of three teachers who take
advantage of the opportunities provided by ProComp and
increase their professional standing and salary.
|
|
|
District
Profile: A
Commitment to Craft, Rochester (N.Y.) City School
District Career in Teaching Program
Scarpa,
S. (n.d.) District
Administration Magazine.
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=743
The
Rochester City School District established a Career in
Teaching Program over 16 years ago with the support of
the Rochester Teachers’ Association.
This comprehensive overview of the program
explains the mentoring
and peer review components of the program, as well as
the levels that have been created within the teaching
profession in Rochester.
|
|
|
Teacher Advancement Program
Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/tap.taf
Recognizing
that American schools were failing to attract and
retain highly qualified teachers to their classrooms,
the Milken Family Foundation developed a program known
as the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) to increase
teaching quality in schools.
The program outlines three career positions
teachers advance through while staying in the
classroom: career, mentor, and master teacher.
It restructures the school day to provide teachers
time for professional learning and collaboration and
rewards teachers with a performance-based compensation
system. The website describes the program in
detail, lists states with TAP
schools, and provides answers to frequently asked
questions about the program.
|
|
|
ASCD
Capwiz Advocacy Toolkit
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. (2004).
http://capwiz.com/ascd/home/
These pages help those interested in education
reform become involved in the policy-making process.
The site provides links to elected officials, tracks
current issues and legislation, and highlights
important elections and candidates.
It also includes a feature that identifies the
major media outlets serving every zip code and allows
users to send an advocacy email directly from this
site.
|
Teachers
Explore
the work of the building administrator, and
participate in programs designed to introduce
teachers to the principalship.
|
|
|
Instructional
Module: View
of the Principal and the Job
The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2004).
http://glef.org/modules/prin/index.php
This module outlines the various job
responsibilities of a principal for those outside of
or thinking of joining the profession.
The contents focus on professional development
and mentoring and profile three innovative leaders in
different school settings.
|
|
|
The
North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
http://www.ga.unc.edu/Principal_Fellows/
The North Carolina General Assembly funds two year
scholarships for accomplished teachers interested in
earning a degree in school administration.
This website describes the Principal Fellows
Program; it includes a general overview, information about
applying for the program, and answers to frequently asked
questions.
|
|
|
Principal
Diaries: A
week-by-week look at the Principalship
Middleweb.
(2000).
http://www.middleweb.com/00index.html
This website
provides readers with access to
the online diaries of two accomplished principals who
recorded weekly entries during the 1999-2000 school
year. Providing
insight into the difficult work of the principal, this
site is of value to anyone exploring the role of the
principal or seeking to connect with others in the
same profession.
|
|
|
Teachers
Urged to Consider the Principalship
Hopkins,
G. (2002,
March 26). Education
World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin262.shtml
This article
shares the
positives aspects of the principalship from accomplished
principals across the United States. Each principal speaks of the positives of one
of the most demanding positions within schooling,
ranging from having the opportunity to lead to
defending the interests of every child.
Also included is an extensive list of
additional Education World articles related to the
work of the principal.
|
|
|
Follow
the Leader: School
Principals in Training
Hopkins,
G. (1998,
February 9). Education
World.
http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin048.shtml
This
article details a program called “Leadership
Stories” being used at Colorado State University to
give administrators in training a closer look at the
decisions made by administrators on a daily basis. In this program, candidates interview a school
administrator about a school-based problem currently
being addressed. Their
goal is to present the problem and solution in a
narrative form, taking into consideration the
administrator’s background and motivation.
The program helps candidates learn about the
complexity and breadth of the issues addressed by
school administrators.
|
Principals
Create
leadership roles, both formally and informally, for teachers
within the school. Share
school leadership responsibilities with teachers.
Build personal capacity within teachers who display
leadership potential.
|
|
Principals
who Know How to Share Leadership
Alabama Best Practices Center. (2004, Spring).
http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/pdfs/wte4-1.pdf
The Spring
2004 issue of "Working Toward Excellence" profiles several
principals who've discovered (some late in their
careers) the power of teacher leadership to revitalize
teaching and learning. The issue also describes the
Alabama Reading Initiative's principal coaching
program, which is helping dozens of principals gain
the confidence, skills and knowledge they need to lead
reforms in literacy instruction.
|
|
|
Leadership
Matters: Building
Leadership Capacity
Barkley,
S., Bottoms, G., Feagin, C.H., and Clark, S. (2001).
http://www.sreb.org/main/Leadership/pubs/01V18_LeadershipMatters.pdf
This
guide outlines practical strategies for building
leadership capacity in schools that pertain to
administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the
community. It also includes a description of the
importance of establishing a shared vision and a
checklist that can be used to evaluate the supports
that a school has in place to encourage risk-taking by teachers
and administrators.
|
|
|
Redefining
the Teacher as Leader
Usdan,
M., McCloud, B., and Podmostko, M. (2001).
Institute for Educational Leadership.
http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/teachlearn.pdf
This
report examines the potential power in enabling and
encouraging teacher leadership.
It discusses roadblocks to teacher leadership,
shares promising practices from districts around the
country, and provides a list of
“Suggested Questions” that communities can use to
start discussions related to teacher leadership within
their districts.
|
|
|
Coaching
Moves Beyond the Gym:
Successful Site-Based Coaching Offers Lessons
Galm,
R., and Penny, G.S. (2004, Spring). Journal
of Staff Development, 25(2).
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/galm252.cfm
This article from the Journal of Staff
Development outlines the growing practice of using
teacher-leaders within a building to provide on-going
professional development and support to teachers and
highlights the benefits of coaching on student
achievement. A
description of five keys to developing quality coaching
programs provides communities with
a starting point for establishing their own site-based
professional development programs.
|
|
|
Leadership
Library: Leadership
Assessment
The Laboratory for
Student Success and the Institute for Educational
Leadership
http://www.e-lead.org/library/resources.asp?ResourceID=16
Assessing
the leadership potential of teachers is a relatively
new concept in education.
While businesses have screened employees for
possible management positions for decades, schools are
just beginning to tap into leadership assessment
strategies with their faculties.
This link provides a detailed description of
the rationale behind school-based leadership
assessment, explains the range of assessment tools
available and then provides a list web-based related resources.
|
|
|
‘Making
Our Own Road:’ The Emergence of School-Based Staff
Developers in America’s Public Schools
Richard,
A. (2003,
May). The Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation
http://www.emcf.org/pdf/student_ourownroad.pdf
School-based
staff developers are becoming increasingly common in
America’s public schools.
These professionals, often former teachers
looking for an opportunity to advance within teaching,
are charged with serving as instructional leaders
within their buildings.
This guide from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation outlines the role of school-based staff
developers. It
provides an overview of the need for such positions, a
description of the kinds of people filling
school-based staff development jobs, several
suggestions about the types of roles that school-based
staff developers can fill within a school, and an
examination of the benefits of school-based staff
development programs.
|
|
|
The
Teacher Leaders Network
The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality
http://www.teacherleaders.org/
This
website, an initiative of the Southeast Center for
Teaching Quality, provides an electronic home for
educators interested in leadership.
Providing resources in areas from coaching and
mentoring to NCLB and action research, this link can
connect teachers to a wealth of professional resources
that empower them to act as leaders in their schools.
|
Principals
Encourage
teachers to attend leadership training seminars offered by
the North Carolina Teacher Academy
and to pursue administrator certification through the North
Carolina Principal Fellows program.
|
|
The
North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
http://www.ga.unc.edu/Principal_Fellows/
The North Carolina General Assembly funds two year
scholarships for accomplished teachers interested in
earning a degree in school administration.
This website describes the Principal Fellows
Program; it includes a general overview, information about
applying for the program, and answers to frequently asked
questions.
|
|
|
The
North Carolina Teacher Academy
http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCTA/NCTA/index.htm
Funded
by the North Carolina General Assembly, the North
Carolina Teacher Academy offers week-long professional
development sessions throughout the summer months.
Several of these sessions focus on school
leadership. Teachers
are provided with room and board, continuing education
credits, and an honorarium of $100 per day for
participating.
|
Principals
Encourage teachers to pursue certification from the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
|
|
Teacher Diary: On the Road to National Certification
Starr,
L. (2003, August).
Education World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/diary_2003/teacherdiary.shtml
This website connects to five diaries
written by teachers working through the process of
Board Certification in 2003.
Accompanied by an overview of the process of
Board Certification, these diaries allow readers to
understand the changes that teachers working for
certification undergo and the type of reflection that
the process encourages.
|
|
|
Virginia
School Sees Board-Certified Teachers As Key to
Turnaround
Archer, J.
(2001, May 30).Education
Week.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=38leadboard.h20&keywords=Fairfax
This
article describes how National Board Certified
Teachers in one Virginia
school are taking on leadership roles by providing
professional training for their colleagues. The school aims to become a model of how
National Board Certified Teachers can help an entire
school improve student learning.
|
|
|
Beginning
the Journey toward National Board Certification
National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2003, August 26).
http://www.nbpts.org/candidates/guide/
This guide from the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards describes the certificates, standards, and
steps involved in the process of National Board
Certification.
|
|
|
NBPTS:
Building better teachers
Starr,
L.
(2004, April).
Education World.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat100.shtml
This Education
World interview with Joseph
A. Aguerrebere Jr., President of the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards, outlines the
process of board certification, as well as the
benefits for teachers and students.
It is a brief and informative look at the
potential that board certification has for changing
teaching and learning in America.
|
|
|
Supporting
National Board Certification:
Principals
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
http://www.nbpts.org/iam/principal.cfm
This
webpage provides a
comprehensive set of resources that principals can use
to encourage teachers to pursue National Board
Certification.
It includes brochures detailing what
principals should know about Board Certification, specific steps that principals can take to
encourage teachers, contact information for principals
that have successfully supported teachers pursuing
certification, lists of the benefits of having
NBCT’s on staff, and links to incentives offered at
the state and local level for teachers pursuing
certification.
|
District
Office
Create leadership roles for
teachers at the district and school level.
Demonstrate a clear, district-wide vision for teacher
leadership.
|
|
Leadership
Matters: Building
Leadership Capacity
Barkley,
S., Bottoms, G., Feagin, C.H., and Clark, S. (2001).
http://www.sreb.org/main/Leadership/pubs/01V18_LeadershipMatters.pdf
This
guide outlines practical strategies for building
leadership capacity in schools that pertain to
administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the
community. It also includes a description of the
importance of establishing a shared vision and a
checklist that can be used to evaluate the supports
that a school has in place to encourage risk-taking by teachers
and administrators.
|
|
|
Redefining
the Teacher as Leader
Usdan,
M., McCloud, B., and Podmostko, M. (2001).
Institute for Educational Leadership.
http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/teachlearn.pdf
This
report examines the potential power in enabling and
encouraging teacher leadership.
It discusses roadblocks to teacher leadership,
shares promising practices from districts around the
country, and provides a list of
“Suggested Questions” that communities can use to
start discussions related to teacher leadership within
their districts.
|
|
|
My
Mentor, Myself
Kellaher, A., and Maher, J.
(2003, Fall). Journal
of Staff Development, 24(4).
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/kellaher244.cfm
It
is critical that schools and districts develop
effective mentor programs to provide support to
teachers new to the profession.
Monitoring the effectiveness of mentor programs
is often difficult.
In most programs, mentors are classroom
teachers who take on protégés with little additional
time or salary stipend.
As a result, the quality of the mentoring
experience can be questionable. This article outlines
the efforts of the Prince George’s County Public
Schools to provide mentors to their new teachers.
Mentors are experienced teachers who serve as
full time coaches for a cohort of 10-15 new teachers.
Mentors provide support through model teaching,
assisting with planning, and providing advice.
Mentors meet regularly with one another and
with their protégés, focusing on issues of immediate
concern. This
program could be adapted by any county looking to
provide alternate career paths for experienced
teachers.
|
|
|
Coaching
Moves Beyond the Gym:
Successful Site-Based Coaching Offers Lessons
Galm,
R., and Penny, G.S. (2004, Spring). Journal
of Staff Development, 25(2).
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/galm252.cfm
This article from the Journal of Staff
Development outlines the growing practice of using
teacher-leaders within a building to provide on-going
professional development and support to teachers and
highlights the benefits of coaching on student
achievement. A
description of five keys to developing quality coaching
programs provides communities with
a starting point for establishing their own site-based
professional development programs.
|
|
|
‘Making
Our Own Road:’ The Emergence of School-Based Staff
Developers in America’s Public Schools
Richard,
A. (2003,
May). The Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation
http://www.emcf.org/pdf/student_ourownroad.pdf
School-based
staff developers are becoming increasingly common in
America’s public schools.
These professionals, often former teachers
looking for an opportunity to advance within teaching,
are charged with serving as instructional leaders
within their buildings.
This guide from the Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation outlines the role of school-based staff
developers. It
provides an overview of the need for such positions, a
description of the kinds of people filling
school-based staff development jobs, several
suggestions about the types of roles that school-based
staff developers can fill within a school, and an
examination of the benefits of school-based staff
development programs.
|
|
|
Supporting
New Teachers During Their First Years of Teaching
Moir,
E. (2000,
October 1). Edutopia: Success stories for learning in
the digital age.
http://glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_8&key=238
This
article highlights the Santa Cruz New
Teacher Project, a revolutionary approach to the
mentoring and induction of new teachers that has had
significant success at decreasing the amount of
teacher attrition in counties that have adopted the
model. One
significant feature of the Santa Cruz model is the
establishment of a cadre of mentor teachers who serve
2 year stints as guides for 14 beginning educators.
A nice alternative to leaving the classroom,
the Santa Cruz model could provide teachers with an
opportunity to advance within the teaching profession.
|
District
Office
Understand, support, and advocate for school restructuring
models such as the Teacher Advancement Program, the Denver
Professional Compensation Plan, the Douglas County (CO)
Outstanding Teacher Program, the New Mexico Three-Tiered
Licensure Program and
the Rochester (NY) Career in Teaching Program that create
opportunities for advancement within the teaching
profession.
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District
Profile: A
Commitment to Craft, Rochester (N.Y.) City School
District Career in Teaching Program
Scarpa,
S. (n.d.) District
Administration Magazine.
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=743
The
Rochester City School District established a Career in
Teaching Program over 16 years ago with the support of
the Rochester Teachers’ Association.
This comprehensive overview of the program
explains the mentoring
and peer review components of the program, as well as
the levels that have been created within the teaching
profession in Rochester..
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Outstanding
Teacher Program
Douglas County School System
http://www1.dcsdk12.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/DCSD.woa/10/wa/staticPage?
wosid=YHatM8nNWmkq3v1tWQDrXg&pageName=hr_lic_PerfPay
The
Douglas County School System, just outside of
Denver, Colorado, was one of the first school systems
in America to adopt a pay for performance plan in the
recent wave of school reform.
This website outlines the pay for performance
plan and describes the district's
Outstanding Teacher Program, in which teachers create
portfolios documenting their accomplishments in the
classroom. The
detailed descriptions of these portfolios provide schools and communities with
adaptable tools to use to improve their own teacher
evaluation systems.
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Assessment
Criteria Benchmarks
New Mexico Public Education Department.
(2003).
http://www.teachnm.org/pdf/NMTeacherCompetencies.pdf
Many states are working to develop plans that
allow for teachers to accept additional responsibility
and be rewarded with increased pay while remaining in
the classroom. New
Mexico has instituted a program known as the 3-Tiered
Licensure System that allows for teachers to advance
to master level status.
This document outlines the competencies
expected of provisional, professional and master level
teachers in each of the 9 performance standards for New Mexico teachers.
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Principals’
Readiness for Reform:
A Comprehensive Approach
Schiff, T. (2002,
February 29). Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/newsroom/news.taf?page=312
While much
recent discussion has focused on the
importance of principals serving as instructional
leaders, a survey conducted in the fall of 2000 by the
Milken Family Foundation and the National Association
of Secondary School Principals revealed that
principals spend less than 30% of their work week
addressing the curriculum or learning environment of
their schools. The
majority of their time was spent on issues related to
discipline, community relations and school management.
The Milken Family Foundation sees this as an
opportunity to create leadership positions for
teachers interested in remaining in the classroom, but
hoping for more responsibility.
This article, originally printed in the
January, 2002 issue of Principal Leadership, discusses
how principals can benefit by sharing responsibilities
with teacher-leaders through the Teacher Advancement
Program.
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Teacher Advancement Program
Milken Family Foundation
http://www.mff.org/tap.taf
Recognizing
that American schools were failing to attract and
retain highly qualified teachers to their classrooms,
the Milken Family Foundation developed a program known
as the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) to increase
teaching quality in schools.
The program outlines three career positions
teachers advance through while staying in the
classroom: career, mentor, and master teacher. It restructures the school day to provide teachers
time for professional learning and collaboration and
rewards teachers with a performance-based compensation
system. The website describes the program in
detail, lists states with TAP
schools, and provides answers to frequently asked
questions about the program.
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District Office
Design
programs that attract qualified candidates to the
principalship based on an understanding of the reasons that teachers
choose to avoid
school administration.
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D.C.
Program Promises Principals Freedom
Archer,
J. (2003,
February 12). Edweek.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=22dc.h22
One
of the concerns that existing principals often voice
about their positions is a lack of control over key
areas of school decision-making.
This lack of control, combined with heightened
accountability, has kept many teachers from pursuing a
career as a principal.
This article from Education Week highlights a
principal recruitment and training program initiated
in 2003 in Washington, DC designed to lure highly
qualified candidates into the principalship with the
promise of increased control.
Teachers enrolled in the program would serve as
assistant principals while undergoing training, and
then go through a two-month apprenticeship, serving as
a building’s principal.
If these new candidates can prove that they are
able to positively impact student achievement, they
will be given more direct control over their schools.
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A
Rural Strategy for Filling Principalships
Erickson,
J. (2001,
November). The
School Administrator.
http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2001_11/focus_erickson.htm
This article
outlines the efforts of
rural districts in Montana to recruit and support
principal candidates from the teaching ranks.
Called the Montana Principal Internship
Program, teachers with leadership potential are
identified and then guided through a three-year
process during which they serve as principals and earn
a degree in school administration.
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Beyond
the Pipeline: Getting
the Principals We Need, Where They Are Needed Most
Mitgang,
L. (2003, June). The Wallace Foundation.
http://www.wallacefoundation.org/WF/KnowledgeCenter/
KnowledgeTopics/EducationLeadership/BeyondThePipeline.htm
While many districts are struggling to find qualified
candidates to fill their principal vacancies, there is
no shortage of professionals holding administrator
certifications. The
problem lies in the fact that many potential
candidates are either not interested in the vacancies
where they are most needed or have decided not to
pursue school leadership positions at all.
This brief explores the need for establishing
a balanced set of policies for attracting leadership
candidates and ensuring quality leadership for all
schools.
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Good
Principals are the Key to Successful Schools: Six
Strategies to Prepare more Good Principals
Bottoms,
G., O’Neill, K., Fry, B., and Hill, D.
(2003). Southern
Regional Education Board
http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/publications/pubs/03V03_GoodPrincipals.pdf
Based
on the belief that good principals are the key to
school success, SREB examined the administrator
preparation process and identified six practices that
increase the quality of principal candidates.
One of the strategies highlighted is moving
accomplished teachers into school leadership
positions.
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NAESP
Fact Sheet on the Principal Shortage
National Association of
Elementary School Principals (2003).
http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=1097&pageNum=1
This fact sheet from NAESP outlines the nature
of the principal shortage.
The document addresses the
following questions:
Is there a principal shortage, how long has
there been a shortage, why aren’t there enough
candidates for these vacancies, and what is being done
to ensure that America’s schools will have strong
leaders.
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The
Leadership Mismatch:
An Alternative View
Tallerico,
M. and Tingley, S.
(2001, November).
The School Administrator
http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2001_11/tallerico.htm
While
the vast majority of teachers in American schools are
women, there are proportionally few in the ranks of
the school administrator.
This
article details five specific steps that can
be taken to remove the barriers that often keep women
from moving into school leadership positions.
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District
Office
Encourage teachers to take advantage of the North Carolina Teachers’ Academy and
the Principal Fellows Program, which develop teacher
leadership and fund scholarships for educators interested in
pursuing a career in administration.
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The
North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
http://www.ga.unc.edu/Principal_Fellows/
The North Carolina General Assembly funds two year
scholarships for accomplished teachers interested in
earning a degree in school administration.
This website describes the Principal Fellows
Program; it includes a general overview, information about
applying for the program, and answers to frequently asked
questions.
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The
North Carolina Teacher Academy
http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCTA/NCTA/index.htm
Funded
by the North Carolina General Assembly, the North
Carolina Teacher Academy offers week-long professional
development sessions throughout the summer months.
Several of these sessions focus on school
leadership. Teachers
are provided with room and board, continuing education
credits, and an honorarium of $100 per day for
participating.
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District Office
Encourage
and provide support to teachers pursuing certification from
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
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