Chapter 13: Cultivating Teacher Candidates’ Passions into Leadership for Tomorrow: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in the professional development school model can serve as a valuable channel for teacher leadership opportunities. Using the distributed leadership perspective, this chapter explores how one school–university partnership focused on developing teacher leaders rather than simply teacher candidates. Viewing the TPP as an incubator for teacher leaders primes candidates to not only teach in the classroom, but to also seek out leadership opportunities based on their passions. This chapter highlights components of the TPP, such as assignments and innovative practices, and provides two specific examples of teacher candidates following their passions to leadership.