Add as a preferred source on Google

State Chiefs Take Leadership Role in Elevating Teaching Profession

  • 12/13/17

Washington, D.C. – A new policy brief from Chiefs for Change today underscores how Congress is threatening critical funding to support teacher leadership at exactly the wrong time.

Forward-looking school systems throughout the country are working to establish avenues for teacher leadership, and leading states are beginning to provide powerful models to guide that work.

With Title IIA funding – and the flexibility for its effective use under the new education law, ESSA – at stake until Congress finalizes FY18 appropriations, it is more important than ever for the most strategic and forward-thinking leaders to make investments aimed at engaging teacher leaders and embedding programs for their empowerment.

Sustained, Bold Reform: Investing in Teacher Leadership in New Mexico draws lessons from the distinct approach used by New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera and her successor Christopher Ruszkowski, both Chiefs for Change members, to modernize and elevate the teaching profession, providing an in-depth analysis of the state’s successful model for teacher leadership. With the state agency as a case study, this brief lends an insider view of the structures, systems, metrics, policies, and programs developed in the Land of Enchantment to empower teachers as leaders, advocates, and trusted partners in school and system improvement.  Bold leadership, sustained over time – and the coaching trees that help to ensure sustained leadership – matter.

Within this brief, Chiefs for Change further builds its vanguard model for planning and designing a teacher and leader advocacy continuum. The teacher leadership system in New Mexico aligns to the Chiefs for Change teacher leadership and advocacy continuum and explains how the state worked closely with educators to meet three key objectives for meaningful teacher leadership:

  1. Empowering and leveraging high-performing teachers to create and sustain effective education policies,
  2. Building a culture of innovation and shared responsibility toward constant improvement, and
  3. Leveraging teacher leaders to address and solve critical issues or challenges at the school and district levels.

About Chiefs for Change

Chiefs for Change is a nonprofit, bipartisan network of diverse state and district education Chiefs dedicated to preparing all students for today’s world and tomorrow’s through deeply committed leadership. Chiefs for Change advocates for policies and practices that are making a difference today for students, and builds a pipeline of talented, diverse Future Chiefs ready to lead major school systems.

For technical questions about the content of this brief, contact Margie Yeager, Chiefs for Change Director of Advocacy and Policy, at [email protected].

Featured

  • California High School Starts Construction on STEAM, Music Buildings

    Tamalpais High School, part of the Tamalpais Union High School District, recently broke ground on two new major facilities for its campus in Mill Valley, Calif., according to a news release. The district is partnering with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and Lathrop Construction Associates for the Science Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and Music Buildings, both replacing their outdated counterparts.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • Extron, CENTEGIX Partner for Comprehensive School Security Solution

    Professional audiovisual solutions provider Extron recently announced a partnership with CENTEGIX, which provides rapid incident response technology, to integrate two of their top products in the name of school safety.

  • Missouri State University Debuts Construction Education Center

    Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., recently opened a new 10,000-square-foot addition and renovation to support the School of Construction, Design, and Project Management, according to university news. The Construction Education Success Center, built onto the existing Kemper Hall, provides academic space for the school’s construction managers and cost $9.6 million.

Digital Edition