Barbara Miller Education Development Center Implementing a Teacher Leadership Program with Sustainability as a Goal: Lessons from Math/Science Partnerships

Goal: To synthesize knowledge generated through the Math and Science Partnerships and integrate it into the broader knowledge base for education reform –Deepening Teacher Content Knowledge –Teachers as Intellectual Leaders –Involvement of STEM faculty –Professional Learning Communities Co-PIs: Iris Weiss, Horizon Research and Barbara Miller, EDC MSP Knowledge Management and Dissemination Project

Toward sustainability: Strategies from four cases of teacher leadership in NSF Math and Science Partnerships (Schiavo and Miller, 2010) (under Cases) MSP Knowledge Management and Dissemination Project

Identify a program that you know of that has been sustained after external funding or after initial implementation. What contributed to that program being sustained? 1.Reflect individually, identifying at least two factors that you believe contributed to the program being sustained. 2.Share with no more than 3 colleagues at your table the two factors. (Note: this doesn’t mean sharing the full description of the program you have in mind.) What is sustainability?

Continuation of a program in its entirety from inception? Ongoing presence of key features of a program? What is sustainability?

Designing and implementing interventions Garnering support of key stakeholders Aligning policies Developing capacity and infrastructure to scale up Features that contribute to sustainability

Handbook for Enhancing Strategic Leadership in the Math and Science Partnerships (Weiss, Miller, Heck & Cress, 2004) (under Presentations and Papers) Features that contribute to sustainability

El Paso MSP –FT-release TLs in high schools and middle schools –In 3 urban and 9 rural districts Nebraska’s Math in the Middle MSP –Formal and informal TLs in grades 5-8 –In 1 urban and over 60 rural districts Vermont Mathematics Partnership –Formal and informal TLs across K-12 –In 7 districts Virginia MSP –FT- and PT-release TLs in elementary and middle schools –In 9 districts MSPs featured in cases

Two kinds of interventions were sustained developing knowledge and skills of teacher leaders supporting teacher leader practices, working with classroom teachers Advice: Begin with sustainability in mind, even in determining which interventions and how they are carried out Interventions

Look to other teacher leadership programs for possible models for sustainable interventions and adapt the model program to fit your particular context. Prepare teacher leaders to share their content expertise with classroom teachers. Align interventions to the selection of candidates for the teacher leader programs. Key ideas for designing and implementing interventions

Which of these key ideas have significance for teacher leader programs that you know? Key ideas for designing and implementing interventions

Different kinds of stakeholders were critical Those directly affected by teacher leader practice Those who shape the context Advice: Work early to garner and often to sustain the support of key stakeholders Stakeholders

Identify district and university leaders who can build long-term support for, and involvement in, teacher leadership programs among their colleagues. Establish a shared vision for the work of teacher leaders among key stakeholders prior to implementing teacher leader programs. Key ideas for garnering support of stakeholders

Which of these key ideas have significance for teacher leader programs that you know? Key ideas for garnering support of stakeholders

Policies at different levels were important School level policies around schedules, release time, collaboration District level policies around professional development, instruction, assistance Advice: Be aware, from the outset, of which policies are most supportive and most restrictive Policies

Leverage existing policies in designing and implementing teacher leader programs. Enact new policies to support ongoing collaboration within the partnership and the initial implementation of teacher leader positions. Key ideas for aligning policies

Which of these key ideas have significance for teacher leader programs that you know? Key ideas for aligning policies

Which of these key ideas about stakeholders and/or policies have significance for teacher leader programs that you know? Stakeholders and policies

Both capacity and infrastructure are essential Who can keep doing the work with quality What resources and structures are needed to support work at scale Advice: Be realistic about whether the program is able to be scaled up Scaling Up

Build the capacity of partner institutions to continue to prepare teacher leaders after the completion of grant funding. Use the grant period to implement changes to the infrastructure of the partner institutions to ensure that the teacher leadership work can be maintained over time. Key ideas for scaling up

Which of these key ideas have significance for teacher leader programs that you know? Key ideas for scaling up

1.Sustainability doesn’t mean continue in perpetuity 2.Sustainability needs to be a goal from the outset 3.Sustainability involves –Interventions –Stakeholders –Policies –Scaling up (usually) 4. Sustainability is a group effort Conclusions

More on sustainability (and other good resources) at