The TAP System stands out because of its more than two-decade-long track record of growth and success in improving educator effectiveness and raising student achievement in high-need schools. This summary includes a recap of some of the most important results that have emerged from the research to date and highlights newer studies documenting…

The numbers speak for themselves in terms of the crisis of hunger among kids in the United States: More than 16 million children--one in five--live in households that struggle to put food on the table. Nearly half of all food stamp recipients are children. But, argues Felling, the battle against childhood hunger can be won; the United States has…

The authors elucidate what they saw as three important challenges to overcome along the path to becoming elementary school mathematics teacher leaders: marginal interest in math, low self-confidence, and teaching in isolation. To illustrate how these challenges were mitigated, they focus on the stories of two elementary school teachers--Laura and…

The rapidly changing world and the increasingly complex demands placed on schools because of that change has led to an increasing awareness that the school principal alone cannot provide all of the leadership necessary for school development. More and more school districts are asking teachers to share leadership responsibilities with school…

The original vision of a charter school called for heavy doses of professional teacher contribution throughout all aspects of curriculum and administration. Unfortunately, that is not how charter schools have evolved. Until now. The Minnesota Guild of Public Charter Schools is the first union-sponsored entity created for the sole purpose of…

A state department of education (SDE) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL requested information regarding state use of schoolwide, large-scale professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, the SDE staff wanted to know the following with respect to PLC work in other states: (1) Are PLCs state-mandated through…

This article describes a novel effort in New York City, the Learning Partners Program, which matches veteran principals with two or more newer ones. In 2014-15, the first full year of the effort, the city's Department of Education put 73 of the city's more than 1,800 schools into 23 groups of threes and one group of four. Every group comprised one…

Beginning a new career as an academic is a daunting task. Carol Mutch's latest book aims to demystify the process by providing new and intending academics with an insight in what to expect. The book is based around the real-life concerns and questions that were raised by the early career academics she worked with in her innovative Emerging…

As the responsibilities and challenges of special education teachers at the secondary level increase, their roles are expanding to include mentor, coach, and facilitator for other teachers. In these roles, they lend their expertise and skills to become the new teacher leaders for today's inclusive secondary classroom settings.

Iowa is working to provide teachers with more effective and relevant professional development that measurably increases their instructional skills and their students' learning growth. This is particularly important as new Iowa Core Standards with higher expectations for student learning are put in place. While the Iowa Core focuses on what…

The "Boston Teacher Leadership Certificate" program was designed in 2010 to build Boston's teachers to be stronger professional resources for one another, their schools, and district reform. The program's key strategy has been supporting experienced teacher leaders to design and facilitate graduate-level leadership development courses…

What inspires teachers to see themselves as leaders? "Mirror Images" takes a comprehensive look at what teacher leadership means today and how teachers can transform the future of their profession. Included are ten iconic images of teacher leadership roles to help teachers move beyond teaching as they were taught. The authors make a compelling…

If someone had asked this author five years ago whether she would ever envision herself as a teacher leader, her answer would have been an emphatic "no." Her passion is for teaching and learning. She did not have the desire or the temperament to administrate others. However, as educational transformation began in her district and on her campus,…

This is a three-part essay featuring six teacher educators and one classroom teacher researcher. Part one describes faculty efforts to build curriculum for teacher research, scaffold the research process, and analyze outcomes. Part two shares one teacher researcher's experience using an equity audit tool in several contexts: her teaching practice,…

When one of the authors saw the job description for an elementary school mathematics coach on a state Department of Education website, she recognized it as an opportunity to have her dream job. She knew that making the transition from the classroom to a math teacher leader would afford her the opportunity to have an even greater impact on student…