“Every student deserves amazing teachers; our teachers deserve amazing leaders.” – Greg Ponikvar

This Fall, I spent one of several Saturdays watching a difficult conversation between a principal and a struggling teacher who was consistently using deficit language about his students. It was the first of nine Leadership Fellows sessions of the 2020–21 school year and the culmination of the cohort’s first Problem-Based Learning experience. Ferdinand, a high school teacher at Summit Sierra High School, had been nominated to model the conversation in front of the entire cohort of 32 experienced teachers and early-career school administrators.

As Ferdinand engaged in the conversation, he tried to embody the tone his group had decided was best for the situation: be supportive, but directly challenge the teacher’s concerning language head on…

Read the case for home-grown talent and developing school leaders from within.