Teacher Leadership Pathways
Discover the many ways YOU can grow in your career in Colonial.
In Colonial, we have created a culture of teacher leadership.
We have amazing educators in Colonial, and we seek to leverage their talents as often as possible. As a result, we have over a dozen leadership opportunities for teachers, including in and out of the classroom.
We believe it is critical to have teachers’ voices in a wide range of initiatives in the district—from instruction to recruitment—as it offers a larger diversity of insights and a greater number of solutions to explore.
Teacher Leadership Roles
Explore the various roles available to teachers in Colonial.
Equity Teams
Teachers on district or school based teams help guide equity work at the district or school level in a number of areas, including professional development, recruitment and retention and the mission and vision of equity work in the district.
Supporting Teacher Effectiveness Project Participant
Colonial STEP is a teacher-led, asset-based model for collaboration. Teams of educators are empowered to use data to define common challenges, identify positive deviants, test and confirm promising practices, and share with the larger audience.
Instructional Coaches
We have instructional coaches at the building and district level who support teachers in curriculum, student achievement, instruction and more. These coaches are considered leaders in their content and knowledge area and are a great resource to the Power of WE community.
Mentors
all first and second year teachers are paired with a mentor. The mentor’s role is critical in the success of novice educators. Mentors help guide the new teacher through weekly conversations, reflections and feedback.
Aspiring Leaders
Teachers and Specialists that aspire to take on leadership responsibilities that support the instruction of staff and learning of students. The positions include but are not limited to instructional coaches, student advisors, assistant principals, and principals.
Onboarding Team Member
Onboarding team members are unique roles in the Colonial School District. Onboarding members help welcome and support new hires from the second they are hired. They might lead small workshops, organize social events and are seen as a warm and welcoming presence in the building.
Department Chairs
Department and Team Leads do exactly that- they lead their team in decision making, attend school leadership meetings and advocate on the behalf of their team.
Peer Observer
Teacher or Specialist trained to provide bit-sized action steps to colleagues in the same content area and/or field of expertise. The peer observer’s feedback is non-evaluative and is not part of the evaluation process. a
Being the co-chair of the Equity Professional Development department has meant a great deal to me because I always strive to evoke change in the lives of all students. Being a part of Colonial’s Equity movement, I can bring more awareness to all teachers in the district so that all students, especially our Black and Brown students, can acquire what they need to be successful and productive adults. As a Colonial alumni, employee, and parent the future of our children is paramount and the time to act is now!
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
At Colonial, we’re focused on offering teachers with multiple opportunities for leadership roles and paths for advancement, including:
- instructional coach positions at the school and district level
- an aspiring leader program with a clear pathway for a wide variety of leadership opportunities
- teachers leading professional development and participating in action research through the Supporting Teacher Effectiveness Project (STEP)
For more details, check out our recent feature in eSchool News entitled, “How to retain great teachers: Start with leadership opportunities.“
Colonial is a member of Empowering Educators to Excel (E3), an exciting partnership led by Insight Education Group and funded by the US Department of Education.
E3 is a networked improvement community that is bringing a wide variety of support and growth opportunities for Colonial’s teachers and school leaders as well as 32 other relatively small and/or rural schools in Indiana, South Carolina, and Texas. Learn more >