Growing Leaders Within

Empowering teachers is one of the most important concepts in Education today.  In their book, Growing Leaders Within, Coquyt and Creasman offer compelling thoughts about teacher leadership.  They establish the importance of teacher leadership followed by practical steps for implementation.  They offer characteristics for effective leadership that applies not only to Teacher Leaders but Leadership in general.  As a 45-year educator who has served as a Superintendent of schools in schools ranging in size from 1100 to 41,000, the Executive Director of a State School Boards Association, and finally as a University Professor I have come to believe that Teacher Leadership is one of the most important initiatives in Education.  I strongly endorse Growing Leaders Within as it is easy to read and would benefit any school administrator in their journey to growing teacher leaders. -- Keith Ballard, Professor at The University of Oklahoma; Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Education Leadership at The University of Oklahoma, Director of the Professional Development and Leadership Academy, former Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools,
The job of school and district leaders is becoming increasingly complex and demanding, making the need for highly effective teacher-leaders greater than ever before.  In their new book, Coquyt and Creasman offer educational leaders practical guidance for the selection and development of teacher-leaders, taking the guesswork out of the process.  Acknowledging that culture impacts every aspect of school leadership, the authors unpack those high-leverage skills and characteristics that will most likely lead to successful models of teacher leadership without taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Growing Leaders Within is a much-needed human resource development tool that has the potential to take teacher leadership to the next level of effectiveness. -- Lu S. Young, Director of Next Generation Educational Partnerships and Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Kentucky, and Former Superintendent of Jessamine County Schools, Kentucky
Growing Leaders Within provides a strategic approach for school administrators as they begin the important process of growing teacher leaders. Coquyt and Creasman use of relevant concepts and theories, followed by explicit examples set the perimeters for school administrators embarking on the journey of growing teacher leaders. Their differentiation between characteristics and skills of teacher leaders is both new and practical – validated by their own experiences as school administrators and through research. Growing Leaders Within is an excellent book for any school administrator ready to empower teachers as leaders. -- Paul Borthwick, Professor Emeritus, Nova Southeastern University
Growing Leaders Within will inspire school administrators to start identifying, recruiting and growing teacher leaders now. Coquyt and Creasman explain teacher leadership in practical and simple terms, answers the why, what and how, and provides school leaders a growth process that can be adjusted based on their school’s vision and needs. If you are teacher, you will say I need to get involved. If you are an administrator, you will wish you had read Growing Leaders Within sooner. -- Steven R. Miletto, Executive Director of the Heart of Georgia RESA, 2009 Georgia Principal of the Year, 2010 Finalist for NASSP Principal of the Year