Teacher Leader Programs: Structure and Staffing in Four TIF Districts

Some Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grantees are experimenting with the design and operation of teacher leader (TL) programs as part of their performance-based compensation systems (PBCS). Much of the impetus for this is the U.S Department of Education TIF 4 requirement that grantees' PBCS should provide for "additional responsibilities and leadership roles," along with other TIF 4 system requirements for PBCS. In addition, districts now view TL programs as a way to provide professional development and advancement opportunities to educators, as well as to leverage the knowledge and experience of their most successful educators. This paper examines four TIF grantees who have developed and implemented TL programs. The paper provides guidelines and recommendations establishing a staffing plan for TL programs including: (a) a description of the TL tasks, duties, and compensation, (b) a process for recruiting and selecting the desired number of TLs, (c) a procedure for making job offers, and (d) onboarding methods that will provide training and mentoring support to newly hired TLs. This information will assist educators and stakeholders with designing staffing plans for TL programs. Additional information about teacher leader programs and standards generally, as well as specific state programs, is available in the appendix.