One response for Rosie:
While it initially may seem that teachers who work in small isolated districts may not have opportunities for career development, such is not the case. Teachers today have wonderful opportunities to connect and share with their colleagues via national educational associations, which can be easily accessed through the Internet.

Regional/national organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children or the International Reading Association have annual regional and national conferences that provide teachers the opportunity to network with other distinguished educators.

Write articles for professional journals. Kappa Delta Pi offers two excellent practitioner focused journals—the New Teacher Advocate and the KDP Record. Rosie can find guidelines for authors and topics for upcoming issues by visiting www.kdp.org.

Questions for Reflection:
• Why are some teachers still excited about the profession after many years, while others experience withdrawal?
• What experiences would you like to share with other teachers?
• What journals do you read? Challenge yourself to write an article that would help a new teacher succeed.
• What regional or national organization meetings have you attended? Challenge yourself to make a submission for presentation!

Conrado’s Story:
“Budget cuts may eliminate some of my most innovative programs.”
Conrado’s students consider him Mr. Wizard! He has awed his middle-school students with his science classes for over 13 years. Unfortunately, Conrado’s district is facing declining enrollment and huge budget deficits. Budget cuts would eliminate the science camp and fossil hunts that are a large part of Conrado’s curriculum.

One response for Conrado:
In an era of budget cuts, outstanding teachers are seeking ways to maintain exceptional classroom practices. One solution Conrado might consider is to apply for teaching awards, which generally have some type of monetary award for the teacher and the school district (see Teaching Awards Information).

Another possibility is for Conrado to apply to local or national businesses for grants that help teachers maintain, expand, or create new curriculum.

Though both of these solutions are time-consuming, they offer teachers an opportunity to document their practice. These professional portfolios often provide compelling evidence for school boards, district administrators, and state legislators.

Questions for Reflection:
• What are the awards for which you could apply?
• What involvement do teachers in your district have in the budget process?
• Do you know how funds are allocated to existing programs?
• How can you share your instructional efforts with legislators?

Tara’s Story:
Tara can’t believe she feels so restless. Last year, she won state teacher of the year! She loves her students, her colleagues, and her principal but somehow feels the need to do more. As part of her master’s program, Tara began to conduct teacher research in her classroom. She found she enjoys searching the literature and finding out what others have found through their research.

One response for Tara:
Though teachers conduct informal research in their classrooms every day, Tara developed a passion. Tara has some options to consider. She could develop a teacher-research community within her district. These communities study aspects of teacher research and often conduct parallel research. There are Internet sites that support teachers’ efforts to develop such communities, such as Networks: An online journal for teacher research, available at: www.oise.utoronto.ca/~ctd/networks.

Another option that Tara could consider is to earn her doctoral degree. Tara’s district has an educational leave policy that would give her up to two years of leave (protecting her tenure and salary) to earn higher degrees.

Questions for Reflection:
• What policies does your district have regarding teacher-education leave?
• What type of research interests would you pursue?
• What type of doctoral program is offered at a nearby university?
• How could you develop a teacher-researcher community in your school?

Teaching Awards Information

Excellence in Teaching Awards—This program recognizes three levels of teaching experience at the elementary and secondary level. www.heb.com/aboutHEB/HH-excelTeachAward.jsp
• Rising Star Award for teachers with less than 10 years of classroom experience. Winning teachers receive a $5,000 cash prize plus a $5,000 grant for his/her school.
• Leadership Award for 10–20 years of classroom experience. Winning teachers receive a $10,000 cash prize plus a $10,000 grant for his/her school.
• Lifetime Achievement Award for teachers with 20+ years of classroom experience. Winning teachers receive a $25,000 cash prize plus a $25,000 grant for his/her school.

The Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards—Provide public recognition and financial rewards to elementary and secondary schoolteachers, principals, and other educational professionals who are furthering excellence in education. www.mff.org/mea/mea.taf

National Education Association Disneyland American Teacher Awards—Recognize the teaching profession, showcase creativity in the classroom, and honor those who can assist in developing creative teaching strategies in their school districts. www.nea.org

National Science Teacher Association—Offers Distinguished Science Teaching Awards and grants for special classroom projects. www.nsta.org

The National Teacher of the Year Program—The National Teacher of the Year is chosen from among the State Teachers of the Year by a national selection committee comprised of representatives from national educational organizations. The program is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers and Scholastic Inc. www.ccsso.org/Projects/National_Teacher_of_the_Year

Phi Delta Kappa–Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year—Wal-Mart donates $4.3 million to local schools with winning teachers. www.pdkintl.org

Links/Resources

Frequently Asked Questions