ABSTRACT
With the goal of deepening our understanding of the contributions that teacher leaders can play in K–12 instructional innovations, this chapter examines how teacher leaders’ roles, responsibilities, and preparation evolved over the eight-year “digital conversion” journey of the East Irondequoit Central School District. This district used the adoption of 1:1 devices as the catalyst to achieve a radical transformation of teaching practices district-wide. Teacher leaders played a critical role in this initiative as they took on different and complementary roles over time, roles we characterize as “early adopter,” “demonstration teacher,” “instructional technology specialist,” and “comprehensive instructional leader.” We describe how the teachers’ preparation for these roles differed, increasing in intensity as the expectations associated with the roles expanded. Four teacher leaders’ stories are also showcased to further illustrate the nature, as well as potential value-added impact, of the roles played by these teachers. Lessons learned include an increased appreciation for the complementary leadership roles teachers can play and the value of the roles, the importance, and impact of preparation for those roles, the value of opening up informal leadership roles to volunteer teachers through an application process, and the need for support and recognition from school administrators.
