TEACHER LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE
Teacher Leadership Initiative:
A Commitment to the Next Generation
of Teacher Leaders
The Teacher Leadership Initiative (TLI) is a joint endeavor of the National Education Association
(NEA), the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) and the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (National Board). The initiative is the product of our shared vision of teacher leadership
advancing the profession. Together, we will create a coherent movement with accomplished teachers’
voices and expertise at its core.
A key attribute of a profession is that accomplished practitioners take responsibility for defining and
governing its standards and practices. Increasingly, teachers are seeking new opportunities to
advance their careers and the profession by taking on new leadership roles such as peer reviewers,
instructional coaches, mentors, curriculum developers, and policy advocates. Through the TLI,
teachers will play more consequential roles in shaping the policies and practices that govern teaching
and learning in the United States.
The TLI is a comprehensive effort to recruit, prepare, activate, and support the next generation of
teachers to lead a transformed teaching profession. The long-term goals of the TLI are to: (1) define
the foundational competencies of teacher leadership; (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.
In Pilot Year Two, 300 teachers will be selected to participate. The experience will culminate in a
formative, field-based capstone experience focused on the following frames of teacher leadership:
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Instructional Leadership - placing teachers at the center of supporting and improving teaching
and learning in their schools and districts;
Policy Leadership - ensuring that experienced and accomplished teachers inform and
influence policymaking decisions at the local, state, and national levels;
Association Leadership - preparing current and future association leaders to include
advancing the profession of teaching and the professional interests of members into the
union advocacy agenda.
NEA’s national reach among teachers, NBPTS’ ties with some of the nation’s most accomplished
teachers, and CTQ’s authentic learning experiences through virtual communities combine to create
an organic partnership whose impact will be greater than the sum of the organizations’ individual
contributions.
Our pilot will involve a strategic focus on teacher leader cohorts in which partners (e.g., state and
local NEA affiliates, state and local education foundations, and district or state agencies) display
readiness for supporting development of authentic teacher leadership and networks of teacher
leaders are well established or growing.
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TEACHER LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE
With funding to network and support TLI participants, we will work closely with NEA affiliates, NBCT
and CTQ networks, and other partners to plan and implement our comprehensive leadership
development system. This system will include the following key elements:
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Use existing models, such as the Teacher Leader Model Standards and the NEA leadership
framework, to develop a set of competencies for teacher leadership in the three frames of
leadership.
Utilize the foundational competencies developed by the partnership to create a
comprehensive curriculum designed for a blended delivery model and focused on developing
teacher skills, knowledge, dispositions, and abilities in teacher leadership.
Select teachers for the 2014-15 pilot year in local and/or state cohorts. Targeted candidates
will fit into one or more categories, including: teachers new to the profession with strong
leadership potential; National Board Certified and other accomplished teachers with little or
no leadership experience; or teachers new to or interested in association leadership. TLI will
require a good deal of time so teachers who already have a large number of
commitments and leadership roles may not be the best fit for participation.
Implement a blended curriculum, including face-to-face meetings organized at the local or
state level and virtual activities in CTQ’s Collaboratory. The curriculum will include an
introduction to the foundational competencies with flexibility for participants to select areas of
interest. It will also prepare participants for the capstone experience as a vehicle for
reflection, documentation, and ongoing learning.
Design and implement a capstone that will give every participant meaningful and practical
exposure to leadership opportunities in which to apply leadership competencies and reflect
upon and learn from these experiences.
Partner with NEA state and local affiliates to host and coordinate capstone experiences. TLI
will support NEA affiliates with human and financial resources in order to offer the greatest
opportunity for organizational learning transfer.
Design and implement a process by which teachers can document and demonstrate growth
and accomplishment in the foundational competencies.
Once teacher leaders have been prepared, TLI will activate 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 track these new teacher leaders
and support their ongoing growth.
Through the TLI, thousands of teacher leaders will ultimately develop expertise and engage in
leadership work in schools, with NEA affiliates, and in state houses throughout the country. The TLI
will prepare and support the next generation of our profession’s leaders—a generation which respects
our core values and is prepared to meet the demands of a 21st century teaching professional.
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