Cultivate and Activate: Building Teacher Capacity for Instructional Leadership

Schools need more leadership than administrators alone can provide. Cultivate and Activate shows how to close four critical gaps that inhibit teacher leadership—authority, information, opportunity, and culture—giving teachers real ownership, a seat at the decision-making table, recognition for their contributions, and clear pathways for professional growth. These strategies strengthen collaboration, improve decision making, and build organizational capacity.

Readers will

Visualize the “missing middle” of teacher leadership as a core part of school operations and a legitimate form of instructional leadership
Understand why information is a critical resource for decision making and learn how to engage those closest to the work to improve speed, quality, and ownership
Create meaningful opportunities for teacher professional growth and career advancement without leaving the classroom
Identify ways to honor and recognize teacher leaders—including titles, job descriptions, and compensation—even without extra funding
Learn best practices for recurring meetings, communication, and decision making that promote transparency and ownership, not just buy-in
Reflect on current organizational norms and use practical tools and templates to cultivate and activate teacher leadership

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Closing the Authority Gap
Chapter 2: Closing the Information Gap
Chapter 3: Closing the Opportunity Gap
Chapter 4: Closing the Culture Gap
Epilogue
Appendix
References and Resources
Index