Leadership by Teachers Gains Notice

State-license endorsements recognize their many roles.

Like a growing number of other teachers nationwide, Danna S. Clinton has taken on a variety of leadership roles in her school, from chairing the science department to helping with the school’s improvement plan. But she has one thing many of her colleagues do not have: a teacher-leadership endorsement from the state of Louisiana testifying to her skills.

“I’ve been teaching a long time,” said Ms. Clinton, a 27-year veteran and a physics teacher at the 2,400-student Lafayette High School in Lafayette, La. “So I thought this would be something new for me to do, stepping out of my comfort zone.”

Louisiana is one of a handful of states that have created or are considering adding endorsements to their state licensing systems that would formally recognize teachers who have taken on leadership roles outside their own classrooms. Illinois adopted a teacher-leadership endorsement last year, and Georgia has new rules that went into effect April 15. Other states, such as Delaware and Kentucky,...