Increasing Student Achievement through High-Performance Teacher Leadership

Book excerpt: Teacher leadership has many potential benefits for colleagues and students. Unfortunately, due to unsupportive conditions and a lack of professional training, these benefits frequently do not materialize. To succeed teacher leaders require a conducive school culture, supportive school administrators, time to complete responsibilities, appropriate incentives and recognition and feedback designed to improve performance. In addition, highly effective teacher leaders participate in high quality professional learning intended to prepare them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. This professional development prepares teacher leaders to utilize effective interpersonal skills, diagnose and manage school culture and politics, lead professional growth activities, provide instructional leadership and assist with human resources management. This book provides the reader with both strategies for creating supportive conditions and the knowledge and skills required to meet the challenges of teacher leadership.