Developing Teacher Leaders Through a District-University Partnership

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Partnerships in Principal Preparation

Abstract

Teacher leadership sits at the nexus of school administration and classroom instruction and itself has been demonstrated as a viable strategy to increase student learning. Several research studies point to the positive influence of communities of practice in schools. Our qualitative study adds to the teacher leadership research by investigating a fairly unique teacher leader professional learning community established in partnership between a university administrator preparation program and a high-poverty school district in the northeast. We conducted a case study of a professional learning community of teacher leaders in a small urban district in the northeast. Our preliminary analyses of our findings point to the successes, and of course, many of the continued challenges associated with developing teacher leaders.

Authors

• Casey D. Cobb, University of Connecticut

• Richard Gonzales, University of Connecticut

• Patricia M Virella, Montclair State University