Opinion
Professional Development Letter to the Editor

Giving Teachers a Voice

October 30, 2018 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Tennessee Teacher of the Year Derek Voiles recently wrote a blog post (“Want to Improve Schools? Look to Teacher Leaders,” Teacher-Leader Voices blog, September 18, 2018) about teacher leadership. In Mississippi, we’ve learned a lot about how to elevate the voices of teachers from our neighbors in Tennessee—and from our own teachers who have played a major role in shaping the policies leading to unprecedented academic growth.

Anna Morris, a 2nd grade teacher at Oak Grove Lower Elementary in Hattiesburg, Miss., and our 2016 Teacher of the Year, spoke on the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) podcast. She believes teachers “should have a foot in policy and a foot inside [the] classroom door” because “what [teachers] create becomes [their] students’ reality.”

Since I became state superintendent, we have worked to engage teachers in policy decisions. We expanded outreach to teachers and partnered with Chiefs for Change. The bipartisan network of state and district education leaders introduced us to teacher leadership models from Tennessee, Louisiana, and New Mexico, and this helped us develop our own strategy.

We created a teacher advisory council that’s partnering with us to overhaul professional development programs and build resources to help teachers identify high-quality instructional materials. Recently, we announced two other exciting teacher leadership initiatives: a fellowship to support teachers in promoting policies they believe best meet their students’ needs and a pilot in which outstanding teachers will coach other educators and mentor those who are new to the profession.

The impact of empowering teachers can be seen in our state’s latest NAEP results. Mississippi is one of only several states that demonstrated significant growth. I’m pleased with our progress and am glad to see state school chiefs engaging teachers in policy decisions. When we give teachers opportunities and support, they’re willing and ready to lead—and when we listen to teachers, we realize just how much we can learn from them.

Carey Wright

Mississippi State Superintendent of Education

Member of Chiefs for Change

Jackson, Miss.

A version of this article appeared in the October 31, 2018 edition of Education Week as Giving Teachers a Voice

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Rethinking STEM Assessment: Strategies for Administrators
School and district leaders will explore strategies to enhance STEM assessment practices across their district, within schools and classrooms.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Federal Webinar Keeping Up with the Trump Administration's Latest K-12 Moves: Subscriber-Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: Math & Technology: Finding the Recipe for Student Success
How should we balance AI & math instruction? Join our discussion on preparing future-ready students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Professional Development What’s Happening to Federal Money for Teacher Training?
Key federal teacher-training grants have been delayed for this year, and may be consolidated or eliminated in fiscal 2026.
5 min read
Photo illustration showing sand being poured through an hourglass as it sits in front of the portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the U.S. one hundred dollar bill.
iStock/Getty
Professional Development Opinion 5 Ways to Make Your Faculty Meetings More Valuable Than an Email
As a principal, I've tried to improve the faculty meetings I once dreaded as a teacher.
Nicole Forrest
5 min read
A group of teachers interacting at a faculty meeting.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Professional Development This Teacher PD Approach Has Spread to More Than 30 States
In theory, microcredentials incorporate elements researchers say are often missing from traditional professional development.
3 min read
Illustration of 8 ladders all blue and shown at varying heights with only one glowing up white and reaching a large red bullseye.
iStock/Getty
Professional Development Opinion Using Data With Purpose for Literacy Instruction
Instead of confining data to spreadsheets, use the information to drive equity, learning, and lasting change.
3 min read
Screen Shot 2025 05 06 at 7.07.08 AM
Canva