The Tennessee Department of Education released Wednesday the 2015-16 Tennessee Teacher Leader Guidebook, which highlights 15 "unique and innovative teacher leader models developed by districts across the state that provide clear pathways to leverage the power and potential of teacher leader development."
"In 2011, the Tennessee State Board of Education adopted the Teacher Leader Model Standards, which provide a cohesive, transparent set of skills and competencies to guide and encourage the development of teacher leaders.
The Teacher Leader Guidebook contains different models that are grounded in these standards, yet illustrate distinct pathways for schools and districts to consider when creating their own models for teacher leader development. Creating a strong group of teacher leaders in Tennessee has multiple benefits including increased student achievement and growth, increased teacher collaboration, and stronger and more positive school and district culture," officials said.
“The development of teacher leaders can be a powerful tool to continue our positive, upward trajectory of increased educator effectiveness and student growth,“ Commissioner Candice McQueen said. “These 28 districts represent the geographic and demographic diversity in our state and provide a powerful road map for all schools and districts to support their teachers as they serve our most important customer in K–12 education: students.”
In the fall of 2015, 14 more districts joined the network as a new cohort, in addition to Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools participating in the program for a second time. All of the district models vary in design, number of roles, and costs, but they share a foundational belief in developing teacher leader capacities, skills, and actions.
The 2015-16 participating districts highlighted in the report are:
Bartlett City Schools
Blount County Schools
Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools
Chester County Schools
Decatur County Schools
Hamblen County Schools
Haywood County Schools
Jackson-Madison County Schools
Knox County Schools
Oak Ridge City Schools
Obion County Schools
Robertson County Schools
Stewart County Schools
Union County Schools
Washington County Schools
"The department created the Teacher Leader Network in the fall of 2013 to develop adaptable teacher leadership models by pulling together highly effective district leadership teams representing the geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic diversity of all three grand divisions of the state. Since this network was established, 28 districts have created unique, innovative teacher leader models aligned to the local goals and professional learning needs that are most closely tied to increasing student achievement and growth in their district," officials said.
The complete 2015-16 Teacher Leader Guidebook is available online here. Versions of the guidebook from the two previous years are also available on the site.