Abstract:

University-School Partnership to Build Teacher Capacity and Intentional Succession Planning:

A study exploring successful models of Planning for the Future, by Fusarelli, Fusarelli, and Riddick (2018) affirmed the value of “forward-thinking” school and university partnership to address leadership challenges through building leadership capacity in staff. School divisions should intentionally pursue succession planning practices, which have historically existed in fields outside of education, to expand and capitalize on the skills of internal leadership candidates. A cohort model designed to build skills and knowledge brings multi-pronged benefits through teacher retention and “strong networks and relationships across the district that will outlast the tenure of the cohort.”

Intentional prioritization of succession planning through skill, knowledge, and capacity building in teachers brings multiple benefits. Strategies can ease transitions and minimize their impact on students, improve student outcomes, and sustain improvements over time according to Cruickshank’s research on Capacity Building and Succession Planning (2018).

The Teacher LEAD Model:

A hallmark of leadership development and K-12/University partnership, Teacher LEAD was designed to address the need for succession planning and building teacher capacity throughout central Virginia (USA). The University of Richmond’s Center for Leadership in Education and Chesterfield County Public Schools' Office of Professional Learning have partnered for over 20 years to bring relevant curriculum to aspiring teacher leaders, preparing them for a variety of roles in Virginia’s fifth largest public school division, which serves approximately 64,000 students.

Teacher LEAD selection is highly competitive and application-based. Thirty teachers are invited to attend the five day program (distributed across three months) each year. Selection serves as recognition of teachers’ leadership potential and clear evidence of the school division’s investment in them and their future leadership roles. Division leaders join the closing session as participants share products reflective of their new leadership conceptions.

University faculty, in consultation with the division leadership, facilitate exploration of the elements and processes of leadership, including seminal authors and literature in the field (Bennis, Northouse, Kelley, Leithwood, etc.) and modern leadership theorists and voices. Participants learn alongside cohort colleagues and begin to gain a solid foundation for meaningful understanding of the role of ethical leadership in schools as they examine their own conceptions of and practices in leadership. The institute offers two essential learning objectives: theoretically, recognizing the elements and process of leadership and, practically, developing a solid foundation upon which teachers can build and apply a more meaningful understanding of leadership in an educational context.

This presentation will explore how a foundational curriculum rooted in the theoretical and seminal literature of leadership can help aspiring leaders expand their vision of themselves in leadership, how the Teacher LEAD model has evolved over more than two decades to continue to meet division needs, and how universities and schools can promote similar partnership models. Opportunities will be provided to advise and collaborate.

Keywords:

University/school partnership, teacher leader, succession planning, leadership theory and practice, leadership development.