Collaborative Teacher Leadership: How Teachers Can Foster Equitable Schools » (New Edition)

Martin L. Krovetz is the director of the Leading for Equity and Achievement Design (LEAD) Center, a regional center of the Coalition of Essential Schools. From 1991-2006, he was a professor of educational leadership at San Jose State University. During this time, he developed and coordinated the Master's in Collaborative Leadership Program. From 1977 to 1991, he was a high school principal in Santa Cruz, CA.

In addition to being the author of the Fostering Resillience, he is the author with Gilberto Arriaza of Collaborative Teacher Leadership: How Teachers Can Foster Equitable Schools, published by Corwin Press in 2006. He has published in numerous journals and presents at national conferences, including ASCD and the Coalition of Essential Schools.

He received his PhD in social psychology from the University of North Carolina and BA from the University of Florida.

"This is an insightful analysis on how to cultivate and empower teachers to become genuine leaders in their schools and classrooms, and an invaluable guide for any school district trying to implement genuine, sustainable reform."

-Pedro Noguera, Professor New York University

"The beauty of this book is the authenticity of the voices. The fact that struggles and conflicts are included make the teachers' stories believable, fresh, and inspiring."

-Pamela S. Hankins, Staff Development Specialist Springfield Public Schools, MO

"Krovetz and Arriaza go directly to the source in this insightful look at the challenges, successes, and professional/personal transformations when teachers engage in collaborative leadership roles in the schools. A great read!"

-Robert Topf, Principal Parkview Elementary School, San Jose, CA

"Reading about the field experiences of other teacher leaders will inspire and guide the reader towards making a positive impact on student achievement. This is a must-have book for any current or future teacher leader."

-Mike Greenwood, District Teacher Leader Windsor Public Schools, CT

Who better to illustrate the challenges and rewards of teacher leadership than teachers themselves?

As the pressure of external accountability has intensified, teachers are being asked to play increasingly important leadership roles. Yet few teachers are prepared to accept this daunting responsibility without first building their leadership capacity.

By placing teachers voices and stories at the center of this book, authors Martin L. Krovetz and Gilberto Arriaza reveal how approaches like collaboration, the use of data, a focus on equity, and job-embedded professional development have been incorporated into real-world settings to lead and manage change successfully.

Ideal for group study, this practical resource includes:

• Reflective questions to help apply teacher stories to specific situations
• Dozens of first-person narratives representing a wide range of voices
• Strategies for documenting and sustaining growth as a teacher leader

Based on the authors work with hundreds of teacher leaders, this essential guide is ideal for teachers, administrators, leadership teams, and school improvement teams to achieve the goal of every school-maximizing student learning.

Preface     ix
Acknowledgments     xvii
About the Authors     xxi
Reframing School Culture     1
What I Am Becoming     4
What Does This Look Like? Changing the Nature of Work     7
Professional Growth     12
Why Do It? It Is About Quality of Life and Learning!     14
Fostering Resiliency: A Lens for Reframing Culture     18
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     20
Essential Questions     21
Resources     21
Tools     21
Organizations     21
Resiliency     21
Endnotes     22
Learning to Lead     23
Why the Need to Distribute Leadership?     24
What Is Distributed Leadership?     25
The Skills, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Skillful Teacher Leaders     26
New Roles, New Relationships     29
Teachers Educating Each Other     33
Teachers as Advocates     36
Leading and Managing Change     39
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     45
Essential Questions     46
Resources     46
Tools     46
Organizations     47
Survey     47
How Did We Do? - A Teacher Survey     47
Endnotes     49
Influencing Student Learning     51
Closing the Achievement Gap and Habits of Mind     53
Valuing the Staff     61
Focusing Resources     66
Community and School Setting     69
Community and School Demographics     69
Material, Economic, and Human Resources at the Site     70
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     73
Essential Questions     74
Resources     74
Community Connections     74
Community Mapping     77
Gap Analysis     78
Endnotes     80
The Role of Inquiry     83
Definition of Collaborative Action Research     85
Collaborative Action Research, When Well Conducted, Brings Out the Best in Its Members     89
Action Research Has an Invaluable Application to the Classroom     92
Methodology     93
Results     94
Conclusions and Recommendations     94
The Potential Power of Collaborative Action Research as a Methodology to Enact Schoolwide Sustained Change     95
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace      98
Essential Questions     99
Resources     99
The Five Whys     100
Building Equity in Diverse Classrooms     101
Distributing Teachers' Work     104
Personalizing Teaching and Learning     109
Students' Academic Performance at the Center of Staff Conversations     113
Having the Equity Conversation     115
The Work     117
Results     120
What Equity-Focused Schools Look Like     121
Academic Success     121
High Expectations     122
Culture of Evidence     123
Personalization     124
Networking     126
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     126
Essential Questions     128
Resources     128
Endnote     129
Advocating for Students and Teachers     131
Advocacy: Adding Voice to a Cry     132
Advocacy for Students     133
Special Needs Students     133
The Whole Child     135
Supporting Parents as Advocates for Student Learning     137
Advocacy for Beginning Teachers     138
Advocacy for Teachers      140
Quality Professional Development     140
Equitable Working Conditions     142
Political Advocacy     146
Working to Impact Policy     146
The Attempted Solution     148
Team Growth     149
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     149
Essential Questions     150
Resources     150
Tools     150
Organizations     150
Resiliency     151
Endnote     151
Courageous Followers and Leaders     153
Spreading One's Wings: Lessons Learned While Becoming Leaders of Change and Transition     156
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change     158
The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders     159
Applying the Concepts in Your Workplace     164
Essential Questions     165
Resources     165
Tools     165
Organizations     166
Conclusion     167
List of Contributors     171
References     185
Index     189