ABSTRACT
The emergence of teacher leaders as school reformers developed out of the need for schools to become centers of sustained progress within present realities of teaching and learning. Teacher leadership has consisted of bottom-up decision making. One group of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers, the South Area Teacher Collaborative, stepped forward to demonstrate transformational teacher leadership not heretofore experienced in the LAUSD. Teacher-led school reform is a model of professional learning communities of practice. To create a shared vision, school reformers must create processes that overcome several challenges and influence all teachers to become leaders inside and outside the classroom. Re-culturing the staff speaks to the necessity of teacher-led school reformers to create a culture of trust in the collective team. A critical aspect to teacher-led school reform is creating a sustainability plan that incorporates cycles of review and change to determine both effective and ineffective practices.
