Teacher Leadership
I'm passionate about teacher leadership!
I really believe good teacher leadership makes a critical difference in teacher growth and retention, as well as in the culture of a department or school. While working for a great principal is very important, I think good teacher leaders have a direct impact on how teachers feel about working at their school. I also strongly believe teachers need a pathway to grow as leaders in their school besides just the traditional "go be an administrator" route. Kids need good teachers to stay in the classroom, and teachers need other avenues to grow (and earn more money too).
I'm invested in teacher leadership because I've had a lot of opportunities to do different things as a teacher leader, and that growth has kept me happy in the classroom, vibrant, learning, and growing throughout my career. Formal mentorship has been something I've done since my second year of teaching - I've mentored new teachers for over 20 years, I've had 9 student teachers, I've mentored PLC lead teachers, and for the last several years I've mentored teachers working through the National Board Certification process. I've also been fortunate to have teacher mentors in critical points in my career that have helped me grow tremendously.
This is my fourth year as the department chair at my school, helping a department of 25 science teachers with budget and ordering, making our teaching schedule, running general meetings, scheduling social events, and lots of rich discussions and troubleshooting along the way. I've been fortunate previously to have some good department chairs, and I had a department chair for a stretch of time that was not as invested in teacher success, and I know what a difference a good leader has in the morale and efficacy of the department. I'm also fortunate to be at a school that believes in teacher leadership and supports our department chair work with an extra planning block, a small stipend, and a real voice at the table in how our school is run.
I have had the opportunity to lead curriculum development and teacher training outside of my school as a teacher leader as well. I worked as a National Math and Science Initiative Consultant while still a classroom teacher for 8 years, running student review workshops and doing weekend training for teachers in AP Environmental Science Strategies and content. I have also been an AP reader (grading AP essays) for 11 years, and have been a table leader the last 4 years, training other teachers and college professors on AP rubrics and test grading. Both activities have let me lead other teachers in my curriculum area of expertise, AP Environmental Science. These experiences also allowed me to travel and discuss curriculum and teaching with teachers throughout Texas and in several other states as well, which was enriching to my personal classroom practice.
Honestly, being a teacher leader has allowed me to grow in interesting ways and impact teachers and students outside my classroom, which has helped me stay excited to still be in the classroom (although I absolutely love teaching and working with teenagers too). I see teacher leadership as an under-utilized and/or under-supported way to make improvements in teacher retention and job satisfaction.