Harmony School Leader Advisory Cabinet

Advocacy Opportunity: Leveraging the Voices of Leaders to Address Student Needs

Teach Plus and Harmony Public Schools have forged a resilient partnership, evolving over six years, with a commitment to elevating teacher voice and cultivating distributed leadership. This partnership has created a multifaceted level of impact by focusing the development of instructional leadership teams, sustained structures for district Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and the advocacy achievements of the Harmony Teacher Advisory Cabinet. The collaborative efforts have led to significant advancements in teacher leadership across their entire network, benefitting over 41,000 students.

School Leader Advisory Cabinet

The Teach Plus School Leader Advisory Cabinet is a one-year program designed to equip administrators with the skills, knowledge, tools and opportunities to advocate on district policies affecting their school communities.

In this program, 20 school leaders will work alongside their peers, school community members, and Teach Plus coaches as allies and coalition-builders. Together, they will focus on common Harmony network challenges. Leaders will engage in learning designed to develop, elevate and transform decisions around the following areas:

  • Impact of school leadership teams
  • School leader resilience
  • Nurturing positive school culture
  • Implementing systems thinking to enhance effectiveness

Program Benefits:

  • $2000 Stipend
  • Attain Collective Leadership and Advocacy Skills  
  • Collaborate and network with other leaders
  • Shape Harmony’s future

Program Structure:

  • Application & Screening: Teach Plus will recruit school leaders (principals, assistant principals, and district leaders) from across the network and use selection criteria to identify Cabinet Members for Harmony approval.
  • Training on Policy and Leadership Development & Implementation: Harmony Advisory Cabinet members will participate in targeted training and work sessions with Teach Plus staff. Training will include topics such as change management, leadership stories for impact, research skills, and effective communication skills.
  • Solutions-Oriented Input to Harmony Decision Makers: Harmony Cabinet Members will leverage their learning to provide thoughtful input to decision makers. Specific activities are listed below.
    • Attend all scheduled trainings and working group meetings
    • Collect stakeholder input through formal surveys and informal means
    • Develop recommendations and presentations for Harmony leaders

The Teach Plus Harmony School Leader Advisory Cabinet will fully launch on July 15th during the Harmony Leadership Summit Pre-conference where Admin cabinet members will convene in-person. Remote monthly meetings will begin in September 2024 and continue through April 2025.

About Our Partner

Teach Plus is a distinguished national non-profit organization making a significant impact in 11 states. Committed to empowering excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers and leaders, Teach Plus is on a mission to instigate positive change in key practice and policy issues that advance equity, opportunity, and student success.

Questions? Contact:
Sofie Vastano at svastano@teachplus.org
Burak Yilmaz, Ed. D. at byilmaz@harmonytx.org
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