Collaborative Leadership for Thriving Teams - A Guide for Teacher-Powered Site Administrators - Published March 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

A practical leadership guide for teacher-powered school site administrators, explaining how the administrator role differs from a traditional K-12 principal. It addresses common misconceptions, including that teacher-powered schools lack principals, and clarifies administrator accountability to teacher teams and collaborative decision-making. The guide supports new and converting teams through seven main topics, reflection prompts for individuals, discussion starters for teams, and resources for navigating ongoing iteration, challenges, and culture change.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

About This Guide

Myth: Teacher-powered schools don’t have principals

Who Should Use This Guide?

How to Use This Guide

Collaborative Leadership for Thriving Teams A Guide for Teacher-Powered Site Administrators Published March 2019 [teacherpowered.org](teacherpowered.org) teacher powered schools The Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative is a project of Collaborative Leadership for Thriving Teams Introduction Welcome to A Guide for Teacher-Powered Site Administrators: Collaborative Leadership for Thriving Teams. We are glad you are here! This guide is several years in the making and comes at the request of dozens of teams trying to figure out the roles of administrators in teacherpowered schools. We know that over half of all teacher-powered schools have designated administrators, and we also know that this role is very different from what a traditional principal does at most K-12 schools. This guide is designed to address the unique opportunities and challenges in being a teacher-powered administrator. There is not one right way to do this, and the guide draws on the expertise and experience of eight teacher-powered expert administrators from schools around the nation. Here you will learn from their knowledge and skills, as well as reflect individually and as a team on what is best for your own school. About This Guide After more than a decade of researching teacherpowered schools and listening to the strugglesand questions of new and converting teams, we knew that the subject of administrators needed to be addressed. There is a common myth that teacher-powered schools do not have principals (see sidebar), and to be fair the name “teacherpowered” does not include principals. Principals are usually thought of as the leader of the school (as in the one leader of the school), but what happens when a school has a team of leaders and the administrator is one voice on the team? There are many answers to that question and the best group to learn from is a group of successful teacher-powered administrators. We invited eight site administrators from outstanding teacher-powered schools around the country to join us in creating this guide. This impressive group met weekly over the summer of 2018 to write and discuss all the topics you will find here. The project was co-facilitated by Jeff Austin, principal of Social Justice Humanitas Academy in Los Angeles and a teacher-powered Ambassador, and Amy Junge, Director of Teacher-Powered Schools for Education Evolving. Read about each leader and their school starting on page 34. Better yet, reach out and connect with them! Myth: Teacher-powered schools don’t have principals There is a common misconception that teacher-powered schools don’t have principals. This is false! Most teacherpowered schools do indeed have a site administrator (usually called a principal, but sometimes aheadmaster, school leader, or director) with an administrative credential. The difference is that at teacher-powered schools the site administrator is accountable to the team of teachers and often selected by this team to serve in this important leadership position. Many teacher-powered principals also teach a course or have an advisory group, and see themselves as one member of the larger team. They don’t wield a veto vote, order directives, or make unilateral decisions. Rather these teacher-powered principals collaboratively lead their teams for the benefit of the students. A Guide for Teacher-Powered Site Administrators 3 Who Should Use This Guide? This guide is intended for any site administrator working at, creating, or converting to a teacher-powered governance model at their school. It is especially relevant to any administrator coming into an already established teacher-powered school or an administrator whose team wants to move to a more teacher-powered model. Reimagining roles, unlearning traditional practices, and adjusting to a teacher-powered culture takes reflection, new skills, and time. It is also important to formalize whatever structures and processes your team decides on in writin

FAQs

How does a teacher-powered site administrator differ from a traditional principal?

In teacher-powered schools, the site administrator is accountable to the teacher team, is often selected by teachers, and serves as one voice on a team rather than making unilateral decisions.

What common myth does the guide address?

The guide addresses the misconception that teacher-powered schools do not have principals, clarifying that most do have a site administrator with an administrative credential.

Who is the guide intended for?

It is intended for site administrators working at, creating, or converting to a teacher-powered governance model, especially those entering an established model or moving from a more traditional approach.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob