Teacher Leadership Program strengthens educator pipeline
As we head into the last quarter of the school-year, we wanted to take a moment to share with you one of our major wins from 2024: the successful launch of our Teacher Leadership Program (TLP). Piloted in 2022-23, and officially launched this year, the TLP allows us to build a strong bench of mentor teachers at our partner schools while increasing the teaching efficacy of second-stage teachers.
Our Teacher Leadership Program has two tracks in order to accommodate the varied experience and background of all of our teachers. First, those who enter the program already having received a master’s degree, earn a Certificate in Instructional Excellence. Teachers without a previous master’s degree, work toward a Master of Arts in Teaching in Learning through our university partner, Washington University.
Over the next five years, we are working to scale the TLP from a pilot of 6 teachers in 2023 to a cohort that is equal in size each year to the residency. We are thrilled to share one of our success stories from the pilot of this program and introduce you to one of our first participants - Carl Carlson - who is now supporting a science resident in his classroom.
Meet Carl
After completing the Teacher Leadership Program, Carl Carlson (R) has stepped into the mentor role, supporting Jon Porter (L) as he completes his apprenticeship at KIPP: Inspire!
Carl Carlson is an eighth-grade science teacher at KIPP Inspire Academy and participated in our pilot of the Teacher Leadership Program in 2023. With 15 years of teaching experience, Carl chose to participate in the program - in part to earn his Master’s degree - but also to intentionally focus on data-driven practices. By participating in our Master’s Capstone course and focusing on effective remediation and assessment strategies with his STLTR coach, Carl’s student mastery doubled - 72 percent of his students showed mastery on his interim assessments by the end of the school-year!
“Looking back on my year in the leadership program, I can see that many of the gains my students made were a result of some of the practices I learned and then implemented mid-way through the year,” Carl said. “I know that with a focused, purposeful start to this school year, we’re continuing to build on these successes starting on day one. I’m so grateful for my time with STLTR and the ways in which they have helped me grow in my career.”
This year, Carl stepped into the role of mentor teacher, supporting a 2024 resident, Jon Porter, on his path to becoming a middle grades science educator.
Growing our reach
The successful launch of our Teacher Leadership Program is an important step in our goal of continuing to support high-quality teachers in St. Louis throughout their entire career.
You can learn more about our partnership with Washington University here and the Teacher Leadership Program here.