Why We Support Teacher Leadership

By: Renee Boss, NBCT

Last year at the National Teaching and Learning Conference in Washington, D.C., I heard Secretary of Education Arne Duncan commit the nation to an intense focus on teacher leadership. Incidentally, The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky has included Teacher Engagement as a key initiative since our inception in the spring of 2013. Kentucky continues to lead the way in work around teacher leadership as evidenced in conversations and in Twitter exchanges among the nation's teachers.  Clearly then, we found it fitting to attend and support the first Teach to Lead Summit sponsored by the the U.S. Department of Education and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Louisville this past December.

As a supporting organization, we committed to

• facilitate conversations
• support the Summits (Louisville and Denver) via social media
• attend and serve as critical friends as ideas were presented in Louisville
• encourage teachers to attend and share their ideas
• provide ongoing support to teacher leaders in Kentucky
• host events for teachers 
• convene partner organizations for continued collaboration about how to best support teachers
• elevate the voice of teachers in Kentucky

Following the Louisville Summit, we asked Kentucky teachers for their biggest take-aways and thoughts on how the TTL Summit might advance our work around teacher leadership in the state. Here's what they had to say...

"The shear number of teacher leaders and the variety of ideas was inspiring! Teacher leadership must guide the education reform for the good of our students."                                 ~Pennye Rogers, NBCT

"A 'big takeaway' from the event was that it struck me how important it is for our work to be acknowledged and respected by national leaders. It made me feel empowered and professional knowing that policy makers believed in my work and that I had something of value to say. I believe conferences like these will advance the work of teacher leaders by elevating the profession and inspiring them to continue doing their difficult work. It helps to know we're not alone out there."                   ~Sarah Yost, NBCT

"In addition to receiving input with our ideas, we were able to hear from other educators from across the nation in regard to problems they are working to resolve, and give them feedback as well." ~Lisa Garner, NBCT

 "I am excited about what our district is doing to promote collaboration and leadership opportunities. Teachers love learning. Being given the opportunity to learn from each other is true gift."     ~Hope Eans

Common Assignment Study (CAS) teachers also participated in the summit as they shared their ideas around how we should continue the work when our research study ends. Their ideas require districts and schools to re-think teacher time and master schedules. At The Fund, we strongly encourage innovative re-designs such as these to better the learning experiences for students and increase the effectiveness of teachers who are committed to teaching Kentucky's students. CAS teacher, Eddie Mullins, sent me a message following the Louisville Summit saying he was encouraged and inspired by the experience. Even better was this part of his message

"I love the thought of growing as a leader WITHOUT having to leave my classroom"      ~Eddie Mullins

When you consider what the quotes from the teacher leaders in this post have in common (along with all the other teachers we continually hear from), you will notice the emphasis on learning and on students. Teachers want opportunities to lead, to learn, and to continue impacting the lives and learning of students. Undoubtedly, this is what we at The Fund want as well, so we will continue to support teachers as leaders and we will celebrate and elevate their voices for the good of all Kentucky's students.

Kentucky Connected Educator Month Day 1

Donnie Piercey

Simmons Elementary
Woodford County

In what way(s) are you a connected educator?

Connected Educator Month is a celebration of teachers who figured out how the Internet can be their friend in the classroom.  The word “educator” jumps out at me, though.  All of us are teachers of students first-being connected just makes our lessons all the more awesome.  So, how am I connected? 

I tweet (@MrPiercey) to get and share ideas with other educators around the world (who I know are a whole lot more creative than I am!). I started the #KyEdChat hashtag for that reason. There are wonderful teachers here in Kentucky who understand the importance of being connected; solid educators who love sharing many of the creative things they are doing with their students. Check out all these Kentucky teachers on Twitter.

Three years ago, I created a classroom blog for my students and parents. My site is a collection of websites, resources, and videos that I use for instruction throughout the school year. If we play a game in class on our Chromebooks, I'll put a link to it on my blog, so my students can go home and play it. If we watch a great Youtube video in class, I'll embed it on my website so my students will watch it over and over again while they are at home. Why should the walls of my classroom be the place where learning stops?

Lastly, this past May I was given the opportunity to attend the Google Teacher Academy down in Sydney, Australia. Being a Google Certified Teacher is a great honor and (okay, I'll admit it) a whole lot of fun, too. It's given me the opportunity to meet some very prominent teachers; some at conference, and others through communities on Google+. The best part for me though: the 160 students who come into my classroom each day get to experience the Googley goodness, too! If you've never played around with the free Google Apps for Education, you're missing out. Sure, I'm a connected educator, but I'm connected to my students first.  

How does being connected impact your practice?

This year, Woodford County Schools is letting me pilot a 1:1 Chromebook classroom with my 4th and 5th grade students at Simmons Elementary. They’re very powerful tools that I believe can change the way teachers teach here in Kentucky.  My students each have their own Google Account which gives them access to all of the free Google Apps for Education. My big, long-term goal is to use my Chromebooks to run a virtual, paperless classroom.  I know this is a wild idea for an elementary classroom, but I’m all about dreaming big.  Here’s one way that I’m using my Chromebooks to make that dream happen:
Every day, my students take a “Flashback” using Google Forms.  Here’s a sample one from a few weeks back (click if you’d like to take it yourself).   All of their information is instantly recorded onto a spreadsheet, and this is where the really-cool-and-nerdy-teacher-stuff starts.  I learned from fellow Google Certified Teacher Jay Atwood (@jayatwood on Twitter, you should follow him!) about a quick little script called “Flubaroo”. Flubaroo grades my students’ work within a matter of seconds; it even emails my students their results!  Check out this video below to see how it works:

  Boom!  Instant Feedback.

Because he's a Google Certified Teacher and he's always looking to teach people new tools and content to improve their learning, Donnie asked Fund staff member, Renee Boss, to join him for a Google Hangout on Air.  In the video below you will find the answer to the last two questions Renee asked Donnie.  How does being connected impact you as an educator?  What advice or resources would you recommend to colleagues interested in becoming connected?

(Note:  In his teacher as facilitator way, Donnie kept the camera on Renee for the first two minutes of the video chat, so be sure to watch the whole thing to see Donnie and to hear his thoughtful responses to the final two questions.)