Few colleges of education include theory and practice about the need to nurture resilient teacher leaders. This issue should be addressed in order to improve the preparation and continued development of the nation's teachers, particularly those in urban schools. This newsletter suggests that as problems confronting schools, particularly urban schools, become increasingly complex, leadership must come from those closest to students--the classroom teachers. Though the effective schools literature of the 1980s highlighted the role of the principal as the formal instructional leader, recent research indicates that principals cannot do it alone and that effective principals must work cooperatively with informal leaders, other teachers, and students to create learning communities. Two recent developments in public education have demonstrated the positive effects of teacher leaders: site-based management and professional development schools. Characteristics of resilient teachers include: increasing pro-social bonding; setting clear, consistent boundaries; teaching life skills; providing opportunities for meaningful participation; and providing caring and support. Characteristics of teacher leaders include: providing good examples of how to work with children; inspiring ideas and discourse; helping others with problems that seem insistently interlocked; providing leadership and involvement in union activities; and offering non-instructional support. (Contains 24 references.) (SM)