Introduction: Interviewees & Highlights Parke and Coble (1997) found that working collaboratively toward improvement increased skills, trust, and empowerment (p. 784). I chose to work with two Golden West colleagues to review and discuss our school’s improvement plan. I teach Spanish and I have 22 years teaching experience, the last three at Golden West High School in central California. I enjoy working with colleagues from other departments for the diverse opinions and insight they provide. Melissa Cepeda works in the Math department. She has been teaching at Golden West for her entire career of 27 years. Although her schedule varies slightly year to year, she primarily teaches Math 3 and Math 3 Honors classes. Stacey Travous is a Chemistry and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) teacher in the Golden West Science department. She has been teaching for 13 years, seven of which have been at Golden West. I appreciate working with both these women and enjoy discussing
Description of Leadership Leadership is the ability to influence or guide others. According to Cherkowski (2018) teacher leaders work with others toward the goal of collective wellbeing (p. 68). Sometimes a teacher leader has a designated position which entitles them to lead. Other times teacher leaders emerge informally to guide colleagues toward positive change. At Golden West High School where I teach, we have department chairs that lead each department. We also have teachers who act more informally as mentors and technology support leaders. Although these teachers do not have a title or paid responsibility to lead, they are known as “go to” teachers for colleagues who need support. Teacher leaders are a vital element to help educational institutions reach their improvement goals. They can act as liaisons between an administrative team and group of teachers as well as represent the classroom teacher’s perspective (ACE, 2022). Silns & Mulford (2002) comment that student