NEA Announces Teacher Leader Initiative

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The National Education Association (NEA), the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) announced the launch of a joint Teacher Leadership Initiative (TLC) January 13 to recruit, prepare and support a new generation of teacher leaders.

The goal of this initiative—starting with 150 teachers and growing to 1,000 by 2017—is to offer selected on-site and online professional training in the areas of instructional leadership, policy leadership and union leadership.

At the kick-off event, the three CEOs of the founding organizations spoke about their vision of a national movement led by accomplished teacher voices with expertise at its core. Dennis Van Roekel, President of the NEA, referenced the overburdening of principals with new and emerging responsibilities as a basis for the initiative.  Van Roekel indicated that school leaders are asking teachers to take on more leadership roles in schools to address this concern. But, these teachers must have the expertise and the training necessary to ensure that the new vision for schools is realized

The initial TLC teacher class are from Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan and Mississippi. They will work in cohorts with partners that include state and local NEA chapters and state and local education foundations and organizations. Over time, thousands of teachers will have the opportunity to participate, ultimately developing the necessary expertise to engage in leadership roles within their schools.

Source: Washtington Partners