The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) recently
released a white
paper, “Re-imagining Teaching”. The paper focuses on five ways to strengthen
the teaching profession. A panel of former state teachers of the year kicked off
a discussion of it at the Fordham Foundation last week.
Panelist Megan Allen, the Florida state teacher of the year in
2010, detailed a typical day for her last year as a hybrid
“teacher-preneur.” It consisted of an exhausting 12-hour day all
across town, starting with a before-school reading group, teaching classes,
team and faculty meetings at school, parent
phone calls, meetings with district leaders and foundations, a Skype meeting, team
planning time and, lastly, a webinar. Whew, we need a nap just hearing about it.
Her schedule for the day brings up the obvious question – is
this sustainable? Can we have an effective “hybrid” teacher role within the
scope of a normal teacher day? Right
now, the average teacher work day for districts that NCTQ tracks is about seven-and-a-half hours, much of which is spent providing student instruction. While
adding to the day is one approach to hybrid jobs, we’re interested in learning
more about districts or schools that have broken the mold and managed to
provide opportunities for teachers that allow them to continue teaching
AND be leaders without burning the midnight oil. Know of one? Tell us about it
in the comments section below.