North Dakota's Experience with the Academy Model: A Successful Replication.

Leadership is a key factor in improving schools and ensuring academic success for all students. At the building level, the leadership role has traditionally been assigned to the principal, but principals cannot be expected to be the sole leaders in their buildings. Although teachers may not aspire to be principals, the complexities of today’s schools demand that they lead as well. York-Barr and Duke (2004) defined teacher leadership as “the process by which teachers, individually or collectively, influence their colleagues, principals, and other members of the school community to improve teaching and learning practices with the aim of increased student learning and achievement” (pp. 287-288). Other research on this concept of shared or collective leadership has also linked these practices to increased student learning (Hallinger & Heck, 2010; Leithwood & Mascall 2008). A survey conducted by MetLife (2013) revealed that 84% of teachers said they were either “not very” or “not at all” interested in becoming a principal; however, nearly 25% were interested in a blended role that combined teaching with a leadership position of some sort. Therefore, given the importance of teacher leadership to student success, and sufficient interest by teachers to serve in blended leadership roles, preparation programs specifically designed for developing teacher leaders are needed. In 2012, the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) released a position paper promoting the development of teacher leadership programs in collaboration with educational administration/leadership professors. The paper noted “[we] believe that leadership matters and thus we submit there is a sense of urgency for professors to collaboratively develop teacher leadership programs embedded within educational administration programs” (p. 1). The authors indicated that site-based internships might augment “simulated exercises in college classrooms” and observed that “university faculty could benefit from access to schools to limit the silo-effect between higher education and PK-12 education” (p. 5). Dr. Tom Hall, Associate Professor at North Dakota State University, earned his doctorate at the University of South Dakota and has been a faculty member in the Educational Leadership Program at North Dakota State since 2005. He has substantial experience with the partnership academy model, and has played a lead role in designing and facilitating leadership academies with four school districts in North Dakota.