It has been a very busy couple of weeks of interviews for the TLC teacher leadership positions at Benton Community. In total, 43 teachers applied for one or more of the three leadership roles established in the plan submitted and approved by the Iowa Department of Education. The goal of the teacher leadership system is to provide differentiated leadership roles for approximately 25% of the teachers in the district. The vast majority of these roles will be addressed with teachers continuing in the classroom. However, six teachers at Benton Community will be in full-time roles next year as either curriculum and professional development leaders or instructional coaches.
We are very pleased with the number of teachers expressing interest in this educational reform initiative taking place in the State of Iowa. The plan calls for all Iowa school districts to be afforded the opportunity to participate starting next year and phased in over the next three years. The Iowa Legislature has appropriated the necessary funding levels for the Teacher Leadership System including a $50 million commitment in FY15, $100 million in FY16, and $150 million in FY17.
The Board of Education appointed a Review Council for the purpose of screening, interviewing, and selecting teachers to serve in these leadership roles. A huge thank you to Jan Andreesen, Dena Bridgewater, Sherrie Collins, James Bieschke, Liz Strempke, and Jo Prusha for serving in this capacity. The goal is to provide recommendations to the Board of Education at the regular meeting on April 9th.
