The idea seemed like common sense: Engage the most effective teachers, ask them to come up with ideas for improving schools, and share what they know with their peers. And along the way, support these educators with time, resources, and a network they can lean on and learn from.

We’re eight years into building the Tennessee Teacher Leader Network, in which highly effective teachers serve in the classroom while taking on leadership roles such as peer mentoring, writing model lessons, delivering professional development, and more. At the state level, we help teacher leaders receive training and networking opportunities, and we support districts in developing and sharing teacher leader programs. As teacher leaders and policymakers, we also get together through roundtables and convenings — the kind of gatherings that brought the two of us together — to exchange ideas about moving education in Tennessee forward.

Tennessee students are outpacing others across the country in growth in reading, math, and science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Last year, the rate of students graduating from high school was at its highest in history, more students than ever earned college credit through AP exams, and students earned a record-high ACT composite score.

Other states thinking about starting teacher leader networks might want to consider our lessons learned. Tennessee is a diverse state, with the Great Smoky Mountains at one end and the Mississippi Delta on the other, and our students attend school in cities, suburbs, and rural areas.  With that in mind, we decided not to adopt a uniform approach. Instead, we’ve encouraged districts to select teacher leadership systems that fit their needs.

Read the full article about a model for teacher leadership by Candice Mcqueen and Charla Hurt at The 74.