Guidepost 2: Shared Leadership & Responsibility
Teachers share responsibility for student growth and school goals with administrators
“I especially like the part where teachers hold one another accountable for student progress – even among good teachers it’s easy to say, ‘That’s her thing, I have enough to worry about.’” Anne McKenna, Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teacher, Second Grade, Evanston, Illinois
“Teaching is a team sport!” Linda Smerge, Illinois Teacher of the Year, Second Grade Teacher, Cicero, Illinois
Why Shared Leadership Matters
Once teachers have sufficient time and administrative support to work together, the next step toward the new school is shared leadership and responsibility. Teachers who have demonstrated excellence in the past should be able to take on instructional leadership roles within the school. All teachers will be accountable to one another – not just parents or administrators – for the success of their students. Research shows that this is a powerful tool for ensuring that teachers are doing their best work.[i]
In the old school, informal sharing may take place as teachers work side-by-side in the classroom or in grade-level teams as they review lesson plans and student learning data. But teachers aren’t always comfortable taking a stronger leadership stance in schools where everyone is seen as an equal on the career ladder.
In the new school, shared leadership starts with the objective identification of teachers who have the skills to work alongside school administrators to model teaching practice, analyze data, lead collaborative teams, or observe and coach other teachers.
Teachers around the state – including many EAC members – are excited about the new evaluation systems, which will help them identify which strategies are effective at ratcheting up student growth, and where gaps exist. Teachers also see valid and reliable evaluations as key in identifying teacher leaders who can garner the respect and support of their colleagues.
Finland’s teachers have such a deeply ingrained sense of responsibility that the country’s school “inspectorate” was entirely dissolved in the early 1990’s, leaving principals and teachers to hold one another accountable for student outcomes locally.
We envision a similar system in Illinois. In the new school, proven teacher leaders provide teacher teams with strong internal leadership and additional quality resources to share with one another. And they are compensated and given the time to fulfill their expanded roles. Administrators, in turn, have the time for meaningful interaction where it is most needed rather than being spread thin across a school. Both aim for continuous improvement. This work represents a significant culture change from the old school, which is solely directed by a principal.
[1] Ayers, W., Teacher talk: Teachers building a professional community by talking to other teachers about teaching (Baltimore: New Horizons for Learning, 2001), retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Transforming%20Education/Articles/Teacher%20Talk/index.html; Grenny, J., The peer principle: New research reveals peer accountability as the ultimate driver of performance, Bloomberg Business Week (2010, May 18), retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/apr2010/ca20100428_172881.htm; Goldstein, J., Easy to dance to: Solving the problems of teacher evaluation with peer assistance and review, American Journal of Education 113, 3 (2007): 479–508.
