Amplifying Teacher Voice: Takeaways from Teacher of the Year Panel Discussion at #MOEd21

 The 2021 DESE superintendent conference featured a breakout session that should influence school leaders. Paul Katnik, DESE’s director of teacher quality, hosted a panel discussion with three recent Missouri Teacher of the Year winners and one finalist. For an hour they shared experiences and insight. 

Takeaway One: Make a habit of saying yes.

All of the teachers described moments when they brought ideas to administrators to improve opportunities for students and the administrators supported their vision. One teacher began an AP program in her rural school. Another created prerequisite courses designed specifically to prepare traditionally underserved populations for advanced coursework. A third began a fitness program for parents and students to build a bridge between the school and community. Some candidly shared that they knew their administrators were skeptical about outcomes, but gave them the tools and support they needed. They celebrated being proved wrong.

Takeaway Two: Involve teachers in building wide problem solving.

According to Heifetz and the adaptive leadership model, the folks closest to the work have the best understanding of the work. Without invoking Heifetz- as I pretentiously do here because I spent a bunch of time and money at Mizzou studying his work- the panel shared experiences when administrators involved teacher leaders in solving problems. One teacher described the work his colleagues did to raise their high school’s graduation rate. The staff worked the problem together with the administrators.

Takeaway Three: Give teachers control over their own professional development.

One panelist, a Spanish teacher, shared how much he appreciated his administration encouraging him to pursue his desire to learn American Sign Language. In his opinion the best teacher leaders are also learners.

The panel also shared that administrators need to be prepared to support teacher leaders when they face criticism from their peers for having a grander vision for supporting students. Administrators need to be able to open their doors and give these teachers the extra time and support they need. 

The panel discussion didn’t address aspects of the hard work of teaching that often lead to frustration and burnout: classroom discipline, critical parents, and insufficient compensation.  However, Heifitz does, and for reasons stated earlier, I will draw on him again. Leaders are often called to regulate stress. We need to be filters. We need to advocate as we can. We need to take tough phone calls to protect teachers. We need to listen even if we can’t fix it. Our offices may not hold a money printing press or a match that will spark a spiritual revival to undo the angry selfishness of this age, but we can listen.  This, I think, is another blog post. 

I’m thankful DESE honored teachers by giving them a voice at this meeting. We were told that 30% of teachers who receive initial teaching certificates do not renew them. Another 20% leave the profession after recertification. Dr. Derek Ward’s 2021 study on teacher mentor programs found that many novice teachers leave the profession due to unrealistic expectations and lack of emotional support.  If we want to reverse that trend, we have to be prepared to listen more than we have in the past. 

Last year was challenging, and the session energized me and reminded me of the thing I value most about educational leadership: supporting the teachers who strive to make everyone better.