Chapter 8: The Mort Teacher Leader Academy: Developing Teacher Leaders for Urban Schools Together

Urban, high-poverty schools present unique challenges for educators and educational leaders. These challenges include having fewer resources, more hiring difficulties (Jacob, 2007; Jones & Sandidge, 1997), greater teacher turnover (Bruno, 2002), more scripted curriculum (Milner, 2014), and increased student transiency (Lippman, Burns, & McArthur, 1996). All of these factors point to inequitable teaching and learning conditions in high poverty, urban schools, which translate into limited life opportunities for too many of these students. Unfortunately, previous reform efforts to remedy inequities experienced by high poverty schools have produced limited, and even detrimental results (Bridwell, 2012).

We believe that exemplary urban schooling should promote democracy and social justice (Nieto, 2007). The success of urban public schools relies heavily on well-prepared educators who can challenge deficit-oriented beliefs about diverse children living in poverty. Such educators focus on the family- and community-learned assets and funds of knowledge children bring to their schools (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Rodriguez, 2013) so that students can discover the tools they already have, and gain those they still need to realize their most accomplished lives (Shields, 2003). Unfortunately, the demands on urban schools for improved student learning outcomes, complicated by expanded accountability practices, often make the job of bringing more equity to the teaching and learning process too complex for a single school to engage in alone. Instead of feeling isolated in this endeavor, we believe urban school educators can partner with educators from other institutions in order to cultivate the conditions needed to renew their schools (Burns, Yendol-Hoppey, & Jacobs, 2015; Goodlad, 1994; Holen & Yunk, 2014; Martinie, Rumsey, & Allen, 2014).