Teacher leaders – current or former classroom teachers working with other classroom teachers and other educators in the school or district – are present in many reform efforts in mathematics and science education. Teacher leaders may be released from traditional classroom responsibilities to engage in their work as teacher leaders. The amount of release time provided to teacher leaders varies broadly and influences their support to other teachers. Whether teacher leaders are granted no-, part-, or full-time release, expectations for teacher leader practice should be aligned with the amount of release time provided.
Practice-based Insights on Providing Release Time for Teacher Leaders
Advice from experienced practitioners offers guidance to those involved in decision making regarding release time for teacher leaders. Insights provided by a group of expert practitioners with diverse backgrounds and experiences in working with teachers included the following ideas:
- Make a public statement – Emphasize that providing release time for teacher leaders signals that substantive work is expected.
- Support is key – Advocate that teacher leaders depend on administrator support for their work.
- Make the best of the situation – Recommend that teacher leaders work, to the extent possible, within established structures for improving classroom practice.
- Capitalize on the classroom – Ensure that teacher leaders who continue to have classroom teaching responsibilities take advantage of their own classrooms in their leadership work.
- Be strategic in the use of time – Work with teacher leaders to be purposeful about how and when release time is used.
- Create a pipeline – Advocate for no, part- and full-time release teacher leaders when possible.
Research on Providing Classroom Release Time for Teacher Leaders
In a review of the published empirical literature, eleven research studies were identified that included findings related to release time for teacher leadership. Findings from across these studies indicated that part- or no- time release teacher leaders reduced the opportunities teacher leaders had to work directly with teachers in their classrooms and that additional release time was needed to support teacher leaders’ influence on teachers’ classroom instruction. There was strong support for the validity of these findings, which were consistent across studies of different subject areas and grade levels.
In order to carry out their work, teacher leaders need to have both time and appropriate venues. The amount of time that teacher leaders have to work with teachers, and when that time occurs, has a powerful impact on the nature of teacher leader actions. Teacher leaders may be released from classroom teaching full-time, part-time, or not at all. Regardless of how much release time is provided, the kind of work expected of teacher leaders must be possible within the time available. This point may seem obvious, but it can spell the difference between successful and unsuccessful teacher leader programs. For instance, plans may be made to release teacher leaders full-time or part-time and expectations set for the kind of work they will do with teachers during the school day. Then if that release time is not secured, expectations for teacher leader work may not be adjusted accordingly. As a result, an anticipated model of classroom coaching of teachers likely won’t happen because teacher leaders are not available when their colleagues are teaching. While there is no “best” model of release time, there should be a strong fit between the expectations for teacher leader work and the time they have to do it.
Experienced practitioners, including MSP program leaders, offered insights about release time for teacher leaders. Data were collected and vetted through multi-round, online panel discussions with practitioners, as well as interviews and focus groups with MSP leaders. The insights below reflect general agreement among these practitioners about teacher leader release time and include illustrative examples from practitioners’ own work. After reviewing these insights, you will be given an opportunity to share your own experiences with these practices. The information you provide will be included in the analysis of insights and examples from other practitioners as this website is periodically updated.
While most of the insights below apply to all teacher leaders, regardless of the amount of release time they have (or don’t have), there are some issues of particular relevance for teacher leaders with no, part-time or full-time release from classroom teaching. Look for the use of underlining to find a discussion of how an insight applies to a teacher leader with a specific kind of release time from classroom teaching.
Make a public statement – Emphasize that providing release time for teacher leaders signals that substantive work is expected.
When districts or schools provide release time for teacher leaders, they make a public statement about the importance of the work. As one program leader noted, the “district/school needs to be realistic about the level of impact that can be expected”, given the amount of release time that teacher leaders have to work with teachers. The expectations for teacher leader work should fit the available time.
The fact that teacher leaders have release time does not necessarily mean that impact is likely. In addition to having the necessary knowledge and skill, to be effective, teacher leaders need to operate within a school or district that is ready for and committed to teacher leader work. Many factors besides time for teacher leaders to work shape the influence that teacher leaders can have on teachers’ practice. As one experienced program leader commented,
I do not think every school needs a full-time release teacher leader and some schools might benefit from more than one. In other words, the size of the school, the readiness of the culture, the vision of the leaders, and the make up of the staff will all influence whether a full-time release teacher leader can really have an impact or whether a lot of his/her time is used like a smorgasbord, (meaning) that there isn’t a practical, pragmatic and purposeful use of the teacher leader.
There is no “best” model of time for teacher leaders, but experienced practitioners noted that certain trade-offs may be expected when opting for no-release or part-time release models vs. full-time models. It is important, therefore, for program designers to be clear about the purpose of the teacher leader program as well as the resources available to achieve that purpose.
Support is key – Advocate that teacher leaders depend on administrator support for their work.
Teacher leaders, regardless of whether they have release time from the classroom, depend upon administrator support. Experienced practitioners noted that it is important that there are clear and shared expectations with administrators regarding the kind of work that teacher leaders will do, as well as viable opportunities to actually work with colleagues. These shared expectations and opportunities to work with teachers are not conditions that can be secured by the teacher leader alone. Teacher leaders must have support and planning from the school or district level. As one program leader advised, “Be smart about providing support in an area that is manageable, rather than trying to do it all.”
For teacher leaders with no release time from classroom teaching, administrator support is critical. For example, in order for a no-release time teacher leader to work with colleagues in school grade-level groups, such groups must be established and given time to work together. Further, the principal needs to make it clear that the teacher leader will have some leadership role in that group, which might take the form of the teacher leader facilitating meetings, providing resources to colleagues, or sharing lesson plans or student work samples from the teacher leader’s classroom.
Experienced practitioners suggest that it is important for teacher leader program designers to “adjust expectations accordingly” and “start small” in terms of determining how a no release time teacher leader can be a positive influence on the interactions and encounters with teachers that are already in place. The no-release time model of teacher leadership was endorsed by expert practitioners, but with some clear cautions. As one program leader noted, “With no release time, teacher leaders are extremely limited in terms of what they can do to help teachers improve their classroom practice,” and without release time, there is the real danger of “setting teacher leaders and the program up for failure.”
With teacher leaders with full-time release from classroom teaching, experienced practitioners noted that securing buy-in for teacher leader work at the school level is critical. Gaining that support often means being explicit about what teacher leaders will do, particularly with full-time teacher leaders, so that there are shared expectations. As one program leader noted,
For full-time release teacher leaders, a combination of strategies and grade levels is reasonable given the high cost of having a full-time released teacher as long as there is clear direction and ample support (materials, time, and structures) from administrators that is provided for them to do their work.
In designing and implementing a teacher leader program with full-time release teacher leaders, careful consideration needs to be given to determining what kind of materials, structures and scheduling are needed for these teacher leaders to be effective. This means planning out work far enough in advance to ensure that there is buy-in for those efforts among teachers and administrators, and that the teacher leader’s work is connected to other reform strategies in use. Moreover, as another program leader observed,
The productiveness of specific activities depends on teachers’ needs, so the teacher leader needs to assess the learning needs of the teachers he or she is working with, and determine the work accordingly. It’s not what the teacher leader most enjoys doing, or is most in the teacher leader’s comfort zone, it’s what work will be most effective for these teachers, at this time.
The caveat with a full-time release teacher leader model, offered by expert practitioners, is taking care that these teacher leaders – because of their release time – not be treated as the only ones responsible for promoting reform or supporting improvement in teachers’ practice. As an MSP leader noted, there is the temptation to only focus on the full-time release teacher leader, and not to look at the larger leadership picture. “Be careful that the teacher leader isn’t seen as ‘the leader’, with others shirking their own leadership responsibilities or no longer feeling that their input is important because it’s the teacher leader’s domain.”
Make the best of the situation – Recommend that teacher leaders work, to the extent possible, within established structures for improving classroom practice.
Experienced practitioners suggested that teacher leaders make the most of the existing structures, routines, and practices already in place within a school to shape their teacher leader work. By utilizing existing venues, the teacher leader may devote more of his/her energy to actively work with colleagues rather than spend time structuring opportunities to work with them.
Working within established structures is particularly relevant for teachers with no release time from classroom teaching. For instance, no-release time teacher leaders might serve on committees, meet informally with teachers who share similar interests about improving practice, recommend resources to other teachers, or collaborate with colleagues in the context of department meetings, grade-level meetings, or study groups. As one program leader noted,
A focus on strategies that can be assimilated into teachers’ classrooms given the existing constraints for time and resources is the most practical way to utilize teacher leaders who are full-time teachers. Utilize structures that are in place, like grade level teams where a teacher can take on the role of “leader” within that structure and receive support for the additional responsibility.
A teacher leader with no release time should focus on activities that do not require access to other teachers’ classrooms while the teacher leader is teaching, unless arrangements are made to provide release time on an as-needed basis. For example, a teacher leader may observe a teacher if substitute coverage is provided to the teacher leader for his/her own classroom. Or, a teacher may use his/her planning period to observe a teacher leader’s instruction (taking advantage of the teacher leader’s classroom as a site for inquiry) if arrangements can be made for the teacher leader and teacher to plan and debrief together.
Insight in Action
As part of a statewide initiative to develop and support quality mathematics programs, school-based teacher leaders supported the implementation of the Investigations curriculum in grades K-5. Because they were classroom teachers without release time, teacher leaders took advantage of faculty meetings that were part of their regular schedules. For these meetings, teacher leaders developed agendas around mathematical issues related to implementing Investigations, featuring activities that would help teachers as they used the new curriculum in their classrooms (e.g., introducing new assessments and working through math games teachers would use with students).
Capitalize on the classroom – Ensure that teacher leaders who continue to have classroom teaching responsibilities take advantage of their own classrooms in their leadership work.
Teacher leaders who also have their own classroom assignment have a number of options for helping other teachers improve their mathematics/science instruction. They might open their classrooms for other teachers to observe, as long as they can find time to debrief with those teachers, which is more feasible for teachers who are only part-time in the classroom. Or, they might do a demonstration lesson in another teacher’s classroom around a lesson or strategy that the teacher leader has used in his/her own classroom.
Insight in Action
During one school system’s reform efforts, 25-30 teacher leaders whose release time from the classroom ranged from no-time to 3/4-time engaged in work at the school and district level. These teacher leaders were encouraged to implement regularly in their own classrooms or in another teacher’s classroom the practices they studied as part of their preparation. Opening their own practices to scrutiny led to collaboration with other teachers in their schools. Teacher leaders eventually began videotaping their practice and sharing it within the teacher leader community.
Utilizing available release time, a part-time release teacher leader could observe a teacher in the classroom, provide coaching, or engage in lesson planning at times that work with the teachers’ schedules. A part-time release teacher leader could facilitate professional development for other teachers, although designing professional development may not be part of the expectations for this kind of teacher leader. One program leader noted that the work of part-time release teacher leaders should be “connected to the classroom practice of the teacher leader (e.g., using common instructional materials) in order to lessen the preparation needed to provide support.”
An MSP leader observed that the advantages to a part-time release model can outweigh the challenge of juggling classroom teaching and teacher leadership responsibilities.
Though it can be challenging to wear multiple hats, this [part-time release] structure often keeps teacher leaders ‘credible’ as teachers because they are in the classroom and addressing challenges to practice just as other teachers are.
Be strategic in the use of time – Work with teacher leaders to be purposeful about how and when release time is used.
Experienced practitioners noted that all teacher leaders need clear goals, and a work plan to accomplish those goals, if their time is to be well used. For teacher leaders with no release time, it is important that whatever time they devote to leadership activities is used thoughtfully and purposefully. For teacher leaders with part-time release, a plan and a schedule to carry out that plan helps to make the most of their limited release time. As one program leader advised, “A specific and scheduled time with clearly identified teachers is a must.” This schedule should accommodate the specific activities that the teacher leader is expected to carry out. Another experienced program leader noted,
The release time must be scheduled so that the teacher leader can do productive work. For example, if the schedule is such that all elementary teachers teach reading in the morning and math in the afternoon, then having a math or science teacher leader with release time in the morning will have limited effectiveness because the teacher leader will have limited, if any, opportunity to observe other teachers teaching math or science or to work in a teacher’s classroom.
The scheduling strategy should include ensuring that the teacher leader spends time with a designated population of teachers (e.g., with new teachers) to whom the teacher leader has access during release time. A program leader commented that “it is extremely important for the teacher leader to be able to do actual teacher leader work during his or her released time – not other work assigned by the administrator.”
When teacher leaders are released full-time from classroom teaching, there may be a perception that they have an abundance of time and no scheduling limitations. But, precisely because all manner of activities are possible, experienced practitioners recommended that there be clear purpose and a plan behind teacher leader activities.
Insight in Action
In ongoing work to improve teachers’ classroom practice, full-time release teacher leaders spent a significant amount of their time working with new teachers in middle or high school mathematics. The teacher leader would usually begin by observing the teacher to get a feel for the teacher’s class. Based on the teachers’ needs, the teacher leaders might do a demonstration lesson, followed by co-planning and co-teaching lessons. Finally, the teacher leader would observe another lesson and confer with the teacher again. Teacher leaders would repeat this sequence as often as needed, using demonstration lessons or co-teaching only as needed. Teacher leaders would often continue co-planning with a teacher for a longer period of time.
Full-time release teacher leaders could engage in the kind of activities that require that they be available to work with teachers in their classrooms, during planning, or in professional development. They might observe and confer with teachers, co-plan with teachers, do demonstration lessons, or provide professional development for colleagues. Since any of these activities are possible for full-time release teacher leaders, it is all the more important that they be strategic about what they do, with whom, and at what point in time. Given that full-time release teacher leaders have the opportunity to work with teachers over time, it is important that their activities with teachers have a sequence or some way to gauge progress, rather than only providing multiple instances of the same strategy (e.g., repeated demonstration lessons in the same teacher’s classroom.
A teacher leader should try to work with groups of teachers (e.g., with grade level groups or in professional learning communities), and not just with individual teachers. This extends the reach of any single teacher leader. Often, the illusion is created that a full-time release teacher leader should be able to work with a large number of individual teachers, given “all that time” that the teacher leader has available. The reality, though, is that a teacher leader is limited in how many individual teachers s/he can work with. Being intentional about working with groups of teachers means that the teacher leader can engage with more teachers, particularly if that occurs in a venue where teachers can continue to work with one another after the teacher leader has ended his/her work with them.
Insight in Action
In an urban school setting, full-time teacher leaders worked with elementary school teachers to help them improve their instruction. They met with grade-level teacher teams to co-plan a lesson or series of lessons. This process included articulating the mathematical goals of the lesson, discussing how to introduce the lesson, and articulating questions teachers might pose to students during the lesson. Then, the teacher leader and teachers who had engaged in the lesson planning process observed at least one (ideally all) of the teachers teaching the lesson. After each teacher had taught the lesson they had planned together, the team critically reflected on their experiences and observations. Administrators frequently provided substitutes or arranged for class coverage to support this activity.
Create a pipeline – Advocate for no, part- and full-time release teacher leaders when possible.
A teacher leader program can be built around a single model of release time – only full-time release teacher leaders, or only part-time release teacher leaders, or only teacher leaders who have no release time from the classroom. Since the leadership work that a teacher leader can engage in is related to the amount of release time s/he has, expert practitioners recommend building a teacher leader program with more than one model of release time. Full-time release teacher leaders could do classroom coaching; part-time release teacher leaders could do demonstration lessons and observations of colleagues; teacher leaders with no release time could lead grade level or department groups in lesson planning. The key is being strategic about maximizing the available time and resources for whichever model of release time is used.
According to experienced practitioners, having teacher leaders with different amounts of release time can function as an in-district pipeline for teacher leadership. A part-time release teacher leader model, for example, can be a useful apprenticeship model, in that a part-time release teacher leader could gain teacher leader experience when working with a full-time release teacher leader. In this way, a part-time release teacher leader could prepare to be a full-time release teacher leader in time, if so desired. As recommended by one program leader,
A part-time release model is a good beginning model [in a teacher leadership program] and can become a part of a long-term plan for building capacity of teacher leaders across a district. It can be part of an “apprentice” or “intern” model for teacher leaders, especially if when they do convene with other teacher leaders from the district, there are full-time, experienced coaches among them. A part-time model can also give a district a chance to evolve a model that is effective both instructionally and financially.
If you are interested in how these practitioner insights were collected and analyzed, a summary of the methodology can be found here.
Teacher Leadership Matters
Empirical evidence shows that teacher leaders’ practice impacts teachers’ instructional practice and, in some studies, provides evidence of positive impact on student outcomes. Findings across studies include:
- Teacher leaders’ practice, particularly in providing instructional support to teachers, impacts teachers’ classroom practice.
- Teacher leaders’ practice occurs in a larger context of conditions that impact teachers’ practice.
- Teacher leaders’ practice is related to positive student outcomes.