Why I'm excited to be a teacher leader, even against the odds

What an exciting time to be a teacher!

I know. With dwindling benefits, low salaries, more and more work with less and less time, I sound crazy.

But after 21 years of teaching, I can honestly say that I am excited. Never before have I seen such a movement of teacher leadership taking hold in classrooms and schools across the country.

Even education groups are recognizing the need to prioritize teachers. A national campaign called TeachStrong is releasing a series of policy recommendations that range from improving teacher preparation to creating innovative career pathways for teacher leaders. And they’re doing it all with the advice and guidance of current educators. TeachStrong isn’t just supported by teachers - it’s backed by 60 bi-partisan organizations that don’t normally “get along,” including teachers’ unions and reform groups.

So how can all teachers tap into this momentum and grow the movement to support teachers?

My name is Heather Gauck. I have been teaching for 21 years for Grand Rapids Public Schools. I am a Lead Fellow for the Michigan Educator Voice Fellowship, PBS Digital Innovator, a TeachStrong Ambassador, a Lead National Fellow for America Achieves and recently a Finalist for the USDOE Teacher Ambassador Fellowship. I want you to know a few tricks to becoming the most influential teacher leader that you can be.

Find your passion. Five years ago, I watched one of my students who struggled with reading manipulating letter tiles to form words on an iPad. I realized the immense possibility of technology as a tool to support my special education students.

Seek out professional learning. I scoured the Internet for any professional development that I could get my hands on. I discovered that SimpleK12 offers free webinars on some Saturdays; between my chores, I would listen to 30-minute sessions on different aspects of technology integration. I found every free online conference and started connecting with educators around the world via Google Plus Communities, Voxer, and Twitter. While I’m on the subject of social media, join! Through Voxer and Twitter, especially, I have come to be part of an actively engaged community of educators in Michigan and nationwide.

Jump at opportunities. As a teacher leader, you have to take chances. Apply to whatever opportunity presents itself that gives you a louder voice. If it hadn’t been for the Michigan Educator Voice Fellowship, I wouldn’t have had the chance to be involved in other national movements, including Teach to Lead, the Future Ready Summit, and TeachStrong. Every time I returned home from a conference, I sought out connections I had in the local news to see if they may be interested in my story. Who is going to tell our stories if we don’t?

Connect with politicians and policymakers. Figure out and attend legislators’ coffee hours, connect with politicians and policymakers via social media outlets, and participate in bring your legislator to school day. Find out your legislators’ personal interests and invite them in. I always said that I hate politics, that’s true. But then I realized: How will we truly make a change unless we are connecting with all of the people writing the policies that so profoundly affect teachers and students?

Last month, I visited the U.S. Department of Education and I saw, written on a wall in bold font, “ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” And though the road to becoming a Teacher Leader is hard work, the journey is exciting, especially when we know that the end game is improving the education of each and every one of our students.