Role Group Strategies

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.