Certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is one of the most respected credentials a teacher can acquire. The process of becoming National Board–certified requires teachers to articulate their beliefs about teaching practice and introduces them to opportunities for leadership. But our experiences as teachers who have achieved National Board certification show that certification alone does not a leader make. For a teacher to translate the knowledge and self-awareness received through certification into successful leadership, a more established leader needs to reach out with encouragement and guidance.
Although teachers who achieve National Board certification are often expected to become teacher leaders—and the process itself requires candidates to show evidence of learning-centered leadership beyond the classroom—teachers seldom pursue this voluntary certification process with the express goal of leading their colleagues. More often, educators seek board certification because they hope to receive more respect as teachers and higher incomes and because they want to improve their teaching practice (Moore, 1999; Snow-Gerono, 2005).
Validation of our teaching and higher pay motivated each of us when we initiated the certification process. In very different contexts, we each emerged gradually into leadership roles after becoming board-certified. Neither of us might have taken the risk if established leaders had not actively reached out.
Finding a Leadership Fit: Bill's Story
As a middle school teacher in Wake County, North Carolina, in 1997, I first pursued National Board certification so I could earn a salary that would enable me to continue teaching. I wanted to remain in the classroom for my entire career, and I thought the 12 percent raise that board-certified teachers get in North Carolina would help me do that. I jumped into the process before many of my peers had even heard of certification.
It wasn't long before I realized that, beyond a pay raise, board certification provided me with much-needed professional validation. The standards developed by the National Board remain the only comprehensive description of what an accomplished teacher should know and be able to do. Earning the certification increased my credibility in the eyes of parents, colleagues, and administrators. People saw me in a new light.
The articulation of teaching practices required as part of certification also built a foundation of excellence for my instruction. Written reflections associated with the process required me to explain the reasoning behind every professional decision. Each reflection forced me to refine my instruction. I learned to look at my practice systematically, beginning with planning based on an understanding of my students and ending with an analysis of the effects of my work.
National Board candidacy makes teachers aware of current leadership possibilities. Teachers who achieve the certification often perceive that the process enhances their leadership (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2001; Sato, Hyler, & Monte-Sano, 2002; Whitman, 2002). But full development as a leader sometimes stalls until a teacher is pointed to leadership roles that suit his or her personal strengths.
In the first five years after my board certification, leadership outside my classroom remained elusive to me because I could not find opportunities that tapped the talents I wanted to draw on. I sought involvement in education policy and school reform. The leadership positions that were widely available—working on curriculum committees and mentoring new teachers—didn't appeal to me. So what I did beyond the classroom did not change much. I quickly learned that, in most people's eyes, teacher leadership was limited to mentoring, acting as a team leader, or serving as a committee chairperson. My administrators assumed that I would enjoy these roles and were surprised when I turned them down.
I also learned that—contrary to what many people assume—accomplished teachers of children aren't automatically accomplished teachers of adults. Those interested in helping board-certified teachers grow into leaders must understand that leading adults requires skills that are not the focal point of the certification process. Limited experience fostering adult learning can foil developing teacher leaders. As a young teacher, I knew nothing about the nature of adult learners and failed miserably in the first leadership opportunities that I accepted. Soon, formal opportunities stopped coming my way. I resigned myself to informally leading close colleagues and focused on my personal growth as a classroom teacher.
I got beyond this plateau through explicit invitations from leaders who saw things I initially couldn't. Carolann Wade, a Teacher Leaders Network (TLN) member and district-level teacher leader, saw in me potential to lead. Soon I was invited to join other teachers in digital conversations focused on teaching, learning, and education policy.
The Teacher Leaders Network is an online network of teachers formed by the Center for Teaching Quality. Exchanging ideas with these educators quickly became the most important part of my professional life outside the classroom. Being part of an online community suited my strengths as a writer and fed my need for reflection. What's more, we explored topics of interest to me, such as education policy and school leadership. I began initiating online discussions and participating in focused conversations on policy topics ranging from performance pay to the proper preparation of preservice teachers. In this digital forum, I began to see myself as a leader.
Ongoing feedback and encouragement from key figures in this network helped build my professional confidence. My mentors also helped me foster professional relationships, mainly by inviting me to participate in a Teacher Leaders Network retreat and introducing me to key members of the network.
Eventually, I established connections beyond my mentors and generated my own opportunities. I have been invited to write for publications and have moderated a state-level conversation on staffing high-needs schools. I've developed and delivered professional development for my district on such topics as using technology to drive instruction and the important connections between teacher working conditions and student achievement. I work with groups that bring teacher voice into education policy decisions; for example, I serve on the Teacher Leaders Network's Teacher-Solutions panel, helping to develop a comprehensive proposal for restructuring teacher compensation. I also write a regular column for the National Staff Development Council on teacher leaders in school reform.
I now look for leadership potential among my colleagues and draw other teachers into my work, connecting them to opportunities that suit their interests and abilities. During the early stages of their leadership, I try to build their confidence by celebrating successes and helping them reflect on weaknesses. Everywhere I go with these colleagues, I introduce them as experts. Watching fellow teachers develop has been remarkably rewarding because I am passing on lessons that I learned only when others reached out to me.
From Hesitation to Excellence: Carolann's Story
One reason I reached out to connect Bill with leadership opportunities is that Imight never have stepped up to the leadership plate if a key person had not done so for me. Like Bill, I pursued National Board certification for my own professional growth, not to lead outside my own classroom. I knew that I was an effective teacher, and I wanted validation of my instructional practices. Although the process of achieving board certification laid the foundation for my work beyond the classroom, I, like Bill, didn't take on significant leadership duties until someone I respected urged me to.
After becoming board-certified in 1999, I began receiving invitations to fulfill teacher leadership roles. I remained hesitant until I received a telephone call from a district-level administrator. She said she had been impressed with my insightful comments and rapport with teachers during a professional development session we had both attended, and she asked me to become one of the district's mathematics trainers.
I had years of experience teaching math to children but no experience teaching adults. Reluctantly, I agreed to try my hand at training teachers. This veteran administrator understood how important it was for me to get a feel for the characteristics of both adult learners and good professional development before I plunged in. She suggested several training sessions I might attend; she then arranged for me to work alongside an experienced trainer who modeled skillful teaching for me throughout several months. Once I developed confidence, I began to lead professional development sessions alone.
Sensing my growing interest in adult education, this administrator encouraged me to pursue graduate studies in curriculum and adult supervision. She introduced me to a professor at North Carolina State University who took me under his wing. This professor helped me match my coursework with my abilities and interests. He encouraged me to assist him in teaching several courses, which gave me the chance to practice teaching at the college level with his feedback and support.
My work as a teacher trainer led to my selection as a member of a state mathematics initiative called Teaching Excellence and Mathematics, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Our goal was to sharpen our own mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Mathematics leaders from across the United States modeled effective professional development for us and guided us as we took on significant leadership roles. This led to national exposure when I was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2003. I now lead professional development within my district and at state and national presentations. Like Bill, I was further guided toward leadership by the invitation to be a part of the Teacher Leaders Network.
These experiences prepared me for my current dual role. I now teach education courses full time at Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I helped design the teacher education program. Peace College and the Wake County School District have an innovative partnership that prepares teachers for dual licensure in elementary and special education, for which I am the liaison. I also lead professional development for teachers routinely as coordinator of the National Board Certification Program for Wake County, the school district with the largest number of board-certified teachers in the United States. I constantly watch for opportunities to draw out teachers with leadership potential.
I often wonder how my career would have developed differently had that district administrator not personally invited me to lead. Like many classroom teachers, I was unaware of the array of leadership opportunities available to educators. More to the point, I was hesitant to pursue such leadership without the support and encouragement of someone I admired.
Steps to Building Leadership Capacity
- Observe colleagues to identify those with leadership potential. Recognizing potential is an essential first step to creating leaders. Look beyond titles in seeking teachers for new roles. Although board-certified teachers have demonstrated accomplishment in the classroom, don't overlook excellent educators who have yet to gain the certification.
- Find leadership roles that fit the skills of those identified. Teacher leaders are a diverse group. Identifying or creating roles tailored to the particular interests of potential leaders will help ensure high levels of motivation and success.
- Encourage accomplished teachers to take on appropriate responsibilities. Lack of confidence is often the first barrier to overcome in developing as a leader. Strokes from supportive mentors go a long way toward encouraging novices to step into new roles.
- Accompany teachers in the initial stages of leadership, introducing them to key people and guiding them. Invitations are not enough to ensure that novice leaders succeed! Stay available as your protégé takes initial steps beyond the classroom.
- Provide encouragement and feedback. Like any learner, new leaders crave feedback to help them improve. Offer an honest critique of performance, combining encouragement with targeted suggestions for improvement. Point out specific accomplishments and express confidence in developing leaders' ability to face challenges.
- Decrease support as skills and confidence build. The greatest challenge for leadership mentors often is recognizing when protégés can stand alone. Learn to enjoy the independent successes of your developing colleagues.
- Encourage leaders to continue the cycle as they identify and support other new teacher leaders. The true power of teacher leadership will be realized when it is amplified by hundreds of leaders developing the potential within hundreds more.
All of us who are committed to improving education should continually tap accomplished teachers for leadership roles. Teachers will seldom ask, Will you help me lead? unless someone in a leadership position asks them that question first.
