Teachers deserve (but have to earn) their seat at the table

Original article in Education Week’s Rick Hess Straight Up by Rick Hess.

These are exciting times for teacher leadership.

…It’s no coincidence that the landscape is rife with new outfits like TeachPlus, Educators for Excellence, and Leading Educators. These have emerged alongside more familiar ventures like the Center for Teaching Quality and Teach For America. In a sign of the times, the National Network of Teachers of the Year is enjoying a resurgence. And the unions are showing some promising signs, with the National Education Association’s Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching and the American Federation of Teachers rightly pointing to promising district-union partnerships in places like Hartford, Connecticut, and Baltimore, Maryland, as models of healthy teacher leadership. With models to emulate, platforms from which to speak, and a rash of opportunities to join with like-minded colleagues, teacher leaders are now equipped with tools that can help them respond to the moment.

To read the complete article, visit¬†Education Week’s Rick Hess Straight Up.