Iowa leads nation in teacher leadership, U.S. education secretary says

CEDAR RAPIDS - Iowa is 'out ahead of the nation” when it comes to improving the teaching profession through a teacher leadership system, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said here Tuesday.

Duncan visited Roosevelt Middle School as part of a seven-state, back-to-school bus tour. He participated in a panel discussion with state and local education leaders on Iowa's teacher leadership and compensation system, which started last school year.

The system - funded through state grants to school districts - gives teachers part- or full-time release from classroom teaching so they can coach other teachers and help develop curriculum.

That type of work is 'revolutionary,” Duncan said, and can improve student achievement, reduce turnover among teachers and cut human resources costs for school districts.

'This should have happened 50 years ago,” Duncan said of teacher leadership efforts. 'I'm thrilled that it's happening now, but I don't want it to take another 50 years to become the norm.”

In a teacher coaching session at Roosevelt, Duncan said, he heard a teacher receive feedback and coaching on how to help individual students.

'To me, that's the magic,” he said. 'The magic is not teaching 30 students the same way.”

Also important in coaching sessions, said Madison Elementary School teacher Teresa Ramirez, is 'having that trust that (coaches) are not there to criticize or to point the finger - they're there to make my profession grow.”

In many cases, teachers already know who the leaders are in their school, said Tammy Wawro, the Iowa State Education Association president. But the teacher leadership system can remove 'angst” about compensation, she said.

Not all teachers have been receptive to coaching, said Jefferson High School instructional design strategist Darius Ballard.

'There's definitely resistance,” Ballard said, but teacher leaders can move past that by building relationships with teachers and sharing student data.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District was among the first districts to receive a state teacher leadership grant. Cedar Rapids schools implemented the system last school year.

At Roosevelt, which has about 600 students, teacher leadership has increased collaboration between teachers and administrators, principal Autumn Pino said.

'I can honestly say we're making headway” in improving the school for students, Pino said.