School districts begin teacher leadership effort

The first Iowa school districts have been selected to launch a teacher leadership effort starting next school year.

Top teachers taking on leadership roles to improve classroom instruction and raise student achievement was a key piece of our 2013 Education Reform. This new effort will allow teachers to work in collaboration with colleagues and learn from each other instead of operating in isolation in their classrooms.

Teacher leadership systems will be phased in over three years, with the goal of all Iowa school districts participating on a voluntary basis by 2016-17. For the first year of the program, $50 million will be divided among selected schools. The second year will see a $100 million investment and the third year, $150 million. The funding will become part of the school aid formula that determines how much state money schools receive each year.

A Teacher Leadership Commission selected 39 school districts for the first year of funding from a pool of 146 applicants. Districts selected will receive about $309 per pupil next school year to implement their teacher leadership systems. The next step for school districts is selecting their teacher leaders.

Teacher leadership systems promise to help students learn more by better meeting their individual needs. They also will help Iowa classrooms attract and retain the most effective teachers by enhancing career opportunities and paying stipends for taking on extra responsibilities.

With higher expectations for students, it’s no longer realistic for one principal to provide all the instructional leadership in a school. Teacher and principal leadership teams are the key to supporting more complex efforts to prepare students to complete in a global, knowledge-based economy.

The selected districts are: