Teacher leadership is the voluntary capacity of any teacher to contribute to change outside of the immediate classroom role in any number of ways and in collaboration with other individuals. Teacher leaders can take on formal or informal roles; a formal role is a position such as a department chair or grade-level curriculum lead, while an informal role is a position such as a school-based staff and student mental wellness committee. The success of a reform is dependent on commitment of dedicated, respected teacher leaders and an administration that is supportive of them.

I am a teacher leader who has become a part of a community of place and a community of practice. I do my best work when I am surrounded by colleagues who are just as excited about a “culture of change” or learning as I am. I am an expert at teaching Latin and AVID in a 1:1 suburban and multicultural environment and I love officially or unofficially sharing that knowledge with others or using it to help make group decisions that will impact my programs. In my personal leadership journey, I imagine myself being on a collaborative Latin curriculum team that develops shared resources for the new Schoology LMS to suit both hybrid and distance learning scenarios. I would also like to develop my capacity as an Instructional Facilitator of Technology (IFT), my district's version of the educational technologist position.

I believe that it is my job as a teacher to guide students on their path in learning about Latin in the context of the ancient and modern world and about post-secondary opportunities in AVID. I believe that learning is the application of knowledge, which is best done socially and collaboratively. There are many ways of learning, just as many ways of knowing, and even more ways to express knowing. I believe that schools are a sheltered, practice arena for the real world. In the journey of “becoming” whomever they are meant to be, students benefit from schools as a place for social interaction and models for behavior. I believe that education exists to transform an individual from one state of being to another. Education is not just raising and metaphorical uplifting of children from a prior state, but also the supporting of children throughout the journey of growing up.

My vision is to collaborate with other LCPS Latin teachers for prepare for both distance and hybrid learning situations during the 2020-2021 school year. Within this venue, I will establish a Latin CLT that functions to produce Latin 1-6AP resources that are usable in the new Schoology learning management system. The Latin 1-2 resources must be tailored for both middle and high school and Latin 3-6AP for high school. The CLT will also provide a safe space for its participants to learn and grow in a community of practice.

I created an action plan which included near-term, mid-range, and long-term actionable steps that aligned with my vision and goals. Some of the steps included:

• Evaluating resources available.

• Communicating the vision and action plan to potential allies.

• Creating a virtual space for communication and sharing of resources.

• Meeting monthly to share, reflect, and reset.

Executing any action plan requires allies, awareness of impediments, and strategies to recruit and overcome. I identified two categories of allies: site-based (Dominion High School) and CLT (Latin) allies. Recruitment of allies means sharing your vision and finding people who will support and expand upon that vision. Impediments could come in the form of potential CLT members who do not have the resources to collaborate. Building a team means recruiting colleagues who are of a collaborative mindset and who are at the same skill level, pacing, and number of preps.

We measure progress and success by reflecting on whether resources and structures support the processes and outcomes. Informal assessments of leadership efforts may include discussions, personal learning logs, and administrative feedback. Formal assessments of leadership efforts may include student assessment results, anonymous student and parent surveys, and CLT meeting logs. Indicators of a job well done may include CLT members, who feel valued and are excited to continue work into 2021-2022; all student groups being supported in their learning; and parents emailing the principal about the success of distance learning efforts of 2020-2021.

I plan to continue my professional learning by accessing online resources and networks. My current learning strategy is to seek, sort, and read all that I can. After reading, I will make an action plan on how to apply these ideas in my 2020-2021 classrooms. Technology and social media networking have connected me with the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual conferences have become a mainstay and I have joined several Facebook educator groups that are unique to my district or are dedicated to things I want to learn more about.

There is no manual to living, teaching well 24/7, or implementing distance learning in a pandemic. The state of education in the United States is always changing. Being a teacher leader is about weathering change with allies and seeking life-long learning opportunities.