NGSS Early Implementers is a six-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The Initiative has used a train-the-trainer model to maximize spread of professional learning about the NGSS in…

The purpose of the study was to find out the relationship of teachers' empowerment and workplace relations with organizational commitment. The public secondary school teachers of Punjab were the focus group of the study. The researcher developed instruments of teachers' empowerment and organizational commitment to gather information from sample of…

As this series on teacher leadership continues, this "CenterView" issue reports on survey findings about the role of teacher leaders and the impact of teacher-to-teacher professional learning on the professional growth of both teacher leaders and the teachers they support. The report also offers specific strategies for school…

Increasingly, educational systems are appreciating the importance of middle leaders leading educational improvement in schools. Schools depend on middle leaders to lead site-based educational development in areas including curriculum development, teacher professional learning and student learning improvement. Middle leaders are in a unique but…

In the United States, almost one-quarter of all youth are children of immigrants and it is projected that by 2040 over a third of all children will be growing up in immigrant households (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2010). This shift in demographics has the potential to compound the inability that many school districts demonstrate to…

A core role of the K-12 school leader is to support and nurture the growth of others. That growth is commonly thought to be at the student level. However, school leaders must also focus on the growth of their teachers. School leaders are adjusting to a world where technology has crept into many aspects of the profession. And sometimes, technology…

Principals used distributed leadership, as suggested by researchers, to actively engage teacher leaders in instructional leadership responsibilities. It was not known how high school principals' distributed leadership practices enabled teacher leaders to assist principals with instructional leadership responsibilities. The purpose of this…

According to the author, for any change to occur in language arts, it must originate from a classroom need and have the support of "teacher leaders" who are able to carry it forward. Learning environments would cease to exist without a teacher leading the learning. The essence of the profession is leadership, yet many teachers do not see…

In the last 30 years, the U.S. education reform movement has focused primarily on increasing school choice, accountability linked to standards, and leadership capacity in our schools. In particular, charter schools have tried to incorporate all three elements in their attempt to provide families with better options for their children. But many…

School principals can play an important role in promoting teacher leadership by delegating authority and empowering teachers in ways that allow them influence in key organizational decisions and processes. However, it is unclear whether instruction and student learning are enhanced by promoting teacher influence in all aspects of school…

Policymakers and education system leaders who invest in formal instructional teacher leadership need to carefully consider how to do so in ways that will best sustain teacher leadership and maximize its benefits for instruction and learning. This report outlines how giving teacher leaders responsibility, accountability, and authority to drive…

National Writing Project (NWP) sites work within an established framework of summer institutes, teacher-led professional development, and continuity to cultivate teacher leaders and empower them by applying these principles. Invitational Summer Institutes traditionally serve as the gateway by which teachers become involved with NWP sites and start…

Turnaround schools require empowered teachers to discover their leadership wand. Based on a case study conducted on BART Charter School, this article highlights five steps for leaders who wish to empower their teachers and allow them to lead their schools to success: (1) Let your people know; (2) Nominate the fittest, (3) Connect teachers to a…

In 2013, the Donald McKay K-8 School in East Boston, was among the lowest-performing schools in Massachusetts, ranked in the bottom 6 percent of schools statewide. The McKay's journey to the school it is today was made possible by a significant shift in adult culture at the school. A learner mindset and a commitment to continuous improvement are…

Building on evolving conceptions of teacher leadership in the literature, this article argues that an integration of both positional and empowering elements of teacher leadership are the seeds of an evolved approach to teacher leadership for instructional improvement. Using data from a study of quasi-formal teacher leadership, the research…