Chapter 4: Leadership of the Reading Specialist
Bean (2015) describes leadership as "any activities or set of activities associated with working with others to reach or accomplish a common goal, that of improving students learning, especially literacy learning" (pg. 83). Reading specialist have a lot of roles to fill as well as serving as a resource to others. Bean (2015) describes different ways in which reading specialists can be a resource to both teachers and students.
*Inform teachers of new ideas and materials. Reading specialists can read articles and summarize them for teachers and share the information with them in a creative way. One way the information may be shared is by creating a flyer. "Teachers tend to appreciate these short summaries that alert them to some possible ways of improving classroom instruction for their students" (Bean, 2015, p. 97). Teachers value suggestions from reading specialists. When new materials are ordered for the classrooms, reading specialists may They may also order "try out" the material with a small group of students (Bean, 2015, p. 97).
*Spread the word about effective teaching and teachers. Encourage shared leadership. "A major task of a leader is enhancing the capacity to others" (Bean, 2015, p. 97). When a novice teachers seeks help, the reading specialist may identify specific teachers who may assist the novice teacher. This may include classroom observations from both the teacher and the reading specialist (Bean, 2015).
*Focus on the student. Every teacher wants their students to be successful! Unfortunately, there are some students who struggle with specific reading areas. It is important for the reading specialist to help teachers implement different strategies in the classroom to help their struggling students (Bean, 2015).
*Be available and follow through on your commitments. It is important for reading specialist to be seen in schools. Bean (2015) discusses the importance of reading specialists taking the time to stop in and visit teachers. It is also important for reading specialists to follow through on commitments being made. Scheduling is important to all teachers and they should be informed if there is a change in their schedule (Bean, 2015).
*Be flexible. "Flexibility is important in terms of working with individual teachers" (Bean, 2015, p.100). Reading specialists may be able to serve as another teacher in the classroom. For example, reading specialists may conduct a small guided reading group, may provide suggestions to the teacher on guided reading, and working with the classroom teacher to plan lessons together and once the lesson is taught, together they can talk about the results and the next steps (Bean, 2015).
*Be a willing helper! Reading specialists who are willing to offer a helping hand, often develop better relationships with teachers. Often times teachers can be overwhelmed with work and can use that additional hand in the classroom (Bean, 2015).
