WASHINGTON –The National Education Association (NEA), the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (National Board) announced today the national Teacher Leadership Initiative (TLI), a joint endeavor to develop a new generation of leaders within the teaching profession.
TLI is a product of the organizations’ shared vision of teacher-leadership advancing the profession. The long-term goals of the TLI are: 1) define the foundational competencies of teacher leadership; and 2) develop relevant experiences and supports to help teachers cultivate those competencies; and (3) activate teachers to be leaders for their profession as a result of their participation in this process. One hundred and fifty educators representing Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Mississippi were chosen for the 2014 pilot year.
“This initiative will ultimately develop expertise and engage thousands of teacher-leaders in leadership work in schools, with NEA affiliates, and in state houses throughout the country—because every student should have the best possible educators in their schools,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “The program will prepare and support the next generation of our profession’s leaders to meet the demands of a 21st century teaching professional and ensure the success of their students.”
Participants will engage with an interactive curriculum designed and facilitated by other expert teachers. Their learning will take place on CTQ’s Collaboratory platform and in face-to-face meetings. Once teacher leaders have been prepared, TLI will mobilize their leadership to help advance student learning, strengthen the teaching profession, and provide vision and direction to the Association. In addition, the partners will develop systems to support their on-going professional growth.
“The initiative will call on the voices and expertise of accomplished teachers,” said CTQ CEO Barnett Berry. “It’s time to blur the lines of distinction between those who teach in schools and those who lead them.”
“The National Board is proud to partner with NEA and CTQ on the Teacher Leadership Initiative,” said Ron Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board. “It is our strong belief that positive change in education must be driven by the profession and shaped by the invaluable experience of teachers working in classrooms. The TLI initiative marks an important milestone in our collective effort to elevate the profession.”
The national initiative was announced earlier today at the NEA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
NEA is taking the lead within the education profession through TLI and a series of initiatives that put educators in positions of leadership within their practice. This summer NEA launched the NEA Master Teacher Project to recruit the best teachers in the country to document and share what makes them effective—95 of the highest performing K-12 Math and ELA common core teachers across the country were selected and awarded $15,000 to share all of their lessons and practices with their fellow educators. Later this month they will release a site built entirely for Common Core State Standards resources. NEA has also partnered with Teach Plus to launch a selective fellowship that will empower solutions-oriented teachers, most of whom are in the first 10 years of their careers, to advise union leadership on teacher engagement and retention. As the education leader, NEA is aiming to empower teachers to lead, shape education policy, and prepare the next generation of teacher leaders.