Today the Collab Blog welcomes guest blogger Paul Kelly, principal of Elk Grove HS. He can be reached @EGPrinciPaul
A wise man once
Tweeted “Aside from our students, teacher leaders are the most important part of
a school!” Profound words, indeed.
OK, I admit it. I Tweeted that… But it’s true!! To my credit, I acted before the amazing teacher-led
Institute Day I witnessed just 3 days ago. It was almost as if I knew something special was on the way. Luckily for the teachers at EGHS, there
was.
ALL teachers are
leaders…every single one. Every teacher is a leader of his or her students. To
be a teacher leader of students is the most meaningful endeavor I can
imagine. The impact each teacher has is immeasurable.
However, this post is a shout out to the teacher leader of teachers. The teacher leader of teachers is a truly
remarkable individual. Why? To be a teacher leader of teachers is
to be a fearless risk taker. In addition to declaring one’s professional vulnerability
to the world, the teacher leader of teachers must climb out onto a figurative
limb. You see, the teacher leader
of teachers is unafraid to
challenge and to be challenged. He is willing to accept that some of his
colleagues will deride his efforts as a leader, labeling him "suck up"
or "golden child.” The
teacher leader of teachers knows that some peers will greet her with pointed
looks that silently ask her "who do
you think you are?" And yet, the teacher leader of teachers
continues to push for the professional growth of every member of the
organization. This irreplaceable
function is what keeps a school moving forward.
The #GrenAir2014 experience, the third
consecutive teacher-led October Institute Day at Elk Grove High School, raised
the bar yet again with 38 teacher leaders creating and delivering nearly 30
unique professional development sessions for their colleagues. Their compensation? Only smiles, “thank yous,” and
follow-up emails. And 24 hours
later, they were back at their day job…teaching their students. #Inspiring.
Since the day I walked into Carl Sandburg
High School as a first year teacher in 1998, I knew that teacher leaders make
all the difference in a school. It
was other teachers who taught me how to teach. It was other teachers who taught me how to assess student
learning. It was a teacher leader,
Christina Simpson, who reminded me that instead of stumbling around for cool
class activities, I needed to figure out what the kids were supposed to PRODUCE
after my teaching. It was a
teacher leader, Mike Woolley, who taught me how to ask questions that really
inspired student thinking. It was
a teacher leader, Tom Schroeder, who taught me that it was OK--even necessary--to evolve and embrace new
teaching practices after 25 successful years in the profession.
In too many school environments, the teacher
leader of teachers concludes that real leadership of teachers by teachers
is impossible. There is a lack of support either from administration or
from peers (or both). He/she ends up feeling as if on an
island, abandoned and frustrated.
Too often, one of two outcomes follows: abdication of the teacher
leadership role or pursuit of an administrative role. For most teacher leaders of teachers, neither of these was ever their vision for their professional careers. What a shame that some of our very
best teachers are unable to be all that they can be for the profession as a
whole.
But not at Elk
Grove High School.
So here’s a toast to my favorite
education professional, the teacher
leader of teachers. The one who takes chances and creates
the culture of professional improvement and student learning above all
else. Take heart, teacher leaders;
there are others like you, and there is strength
in numbers. Find each other and
make each other great.
At Elk Grove High
School, I just watched 38 teacher leaders
of teachers create and deliver a
complex, rich institute day program, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It didn’t happen overnight, but the
teacher leadership of teachers that has evolved at EGHS has transformed our
school into the most collaborative learning environment I have ever been part
of.
I think I’ll go
Tweet that.
