Ashley Walser

October 1, 2016

EDAD 543
Assignment #1

Philosophy Statement
What is the purpose of a TOSA or teacher-leader?

I initially wanted to visualize the purpose of a TOSA as a funnel

metaphor connecting how a TOSA takes bigger picture ideas and
funnel them into functional/manageable chunks for teachers, but this
would not work because upon further reflection a TOSAs job is fluid
between two different sides. I feel that the purpose of a TOSA or
teacher-leader is to bridge the gap between teachers and
administrators to create a shared leadership model within the school
system in order to promote life long learning. In this case a bridge
may be a better metaphorical visual. On one side of the bridge are
administrators who tend to hold the view of the bigger picture and
long-term goals for a school system, and on the other side of the
bridge are teachers who hold the view of the smaller picture daily
implementation of building blocks for the schools long-term goals.
TOSAs are continually travelling across this bridge, and with each trip
they are joined by a part of shared leadership teams that make each
journey go slightly smoother than the previous trip. I think that the
collaboration that happens during this process eventually, over time,
takes down this metaphorical bridge and becomes a single platform
that all school members are standing on together.
In my experience working at Blaine the use of full time TOSA
positions is a fairly new system put into practice. Their work began
with the rollout of drastically new instructional and evaluation
systems/standards. The TOSAs assist teachers in unpacking the new
standards, sharing resources on how to implement effective instruction
and coach teachers on instructional practices. They have been taking
the bigger picture system ideas from administrators, sharing them with

Ashley Walser
October 1, 2016

EDAD 543
Assignment #1

staff and creating scaffolds to promote positive change for learners.

TOSAs work collaboratively with administrators and teachers. They
also lead leadership teams that create shared leadership opportunities
for other teachers.
Why did you step into a teacher-leader role?
Stepping into a teacher-leader role is something that I initially did
without knowing it happened. Being in the role of a special education
teacher involves figuring out the best instructional practices to use
with a wide variety of students academic, social and behavioral needs.
Special educators collaboratively create student plans with families
and teachers, plan instruction for paraprofessionals and continually use
data to inform instructional decisions. The uniqueness of my job, and
the shared leadership styles of our administrators at Blaine, have
provided me with opportunities to be a part of collaborative teams (RTI,
5D, Child Study, Social/Behavioral Instructional Teams, Special
Education Common Core Team Representative) that have built-in
leadership roles. I initially joined these teams for my own personal
growth in teaching, but during evaluative reflections with my principal I
realized that the work done with these teams are leadership roles. I
have been able to facilitate collaborative processes, engage in
essential conversations, provide for social/emotional/intellectual safety,
and plan with data. Through these teams I have been able to work
closely with a cohort of peers and share out information to staff
through presentations and trainings.
Who is (are) your role models? Why?
My role models are my co-workers. They ground their work in our
schools core value of All meaning all. My co-workers are continually
pushing themselves to do best for all students, through making data
based decisions and collaborating with others. I would never have the
courage to present in front of my colleagues, facilitate meetings or

Ashley Walser
October 1, 2016

EDAD 543
Assignment #1

create agendas if this group of inspiring professionals did not surround

me. Watching their professional growth makes me set new goals for
myself. Starting my job at Blaine six years ago I was excited to see
other teachers leading staff meetings to share out about the work
being done on the literacy team or staff sharing out about their
instructional practices in PLC book groups. My PLC group members and
facilitators encouraged me to grow through book studies and attending
conferences. Watching the systems that our administration sets up to
build shared leadership opportunities helps me think about what I want
to do to not only be a teacher, but a teacher leader.