One popular approach to teacher leadership is to identify certain teachers as particularly successful, then have others learn from them. Collaborative leadership, in contrast, looks at leadership as a quality that anyone can have. In this model, the goal is not to figure out who is best. Instead, teachers share their unique talents and interests…

Educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Friedlaender share findings from their recent report highlighting five California high schools that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low-income students of color. Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, June Jordan School for Equity, Leadership…

Peer assistance and review (PAR) reduces the burden on principals, the isolation of the classroom teacher, and sometimes even the antagonism and hostility between labor and management by involving teachers in the formal evaluation of other teachers and making them responsible for employment recommendations. Coaches who have been identified for…

Mandel interviewed both new teachers and veteran educators who had mentored first-year teachers in Los Angeles schools to ascertain what kind of information new teachers want during their initial year in the classroom. He discovered that few first-year teachers felt they needed guidance related to state standards and standardized tests. New…

Describes California's Mentor Teacher Program, which provides stipends for experienced teachers who are appointed to work in a staff development capacity with new teachers, other career teachers, and "teacher trainees" without formal teacher training. Covers mentor qualifications and program implementation, documentation, and evaluation.…

As part of a long-term inquiry into the nature of staff development, 300 interviews focused on teachers' use of formal development opportunities, informal interactions with other professionals, and personally directed growth activities. The relationships between teachers' growth levels and the social systems of schools are discussed. (Author/MLF)