Lead Teacher Programme
What is the Lead Teacher Programme?
The Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) created the Lead Teacher programme to provide teachers with opportunities to collaborate and support each other. The Lead Teacher Programme encourages the creation and provision of professional development opportunities (PDOs) that are targeted at the specific needs of teachers. Through the Lead Teacher Programme, teachers create and execute PDOs with and for other teachers.
The Jamaica Teaching Council has developed the Lead Teacher Programme to encourage the creation of professional learning communities (PLCs) among teachers in Quality Education Circles (QECs).
3 Quick Facts about the Lead Teacher Programme
The Lead Teacher Programme works through the QEC structure. A QEC is made up of a group of educational institutions (early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary) within a geographic location
Lead teachers are full time members of staff in schools. They volunteer to start, promote and sustain PLCs. It is the voluntary work of the Lead Teachers that makes the initiative possible.
A PLC is a group of teachers who share a common interest and who work to support each other. Through the Lead Teacher Programme, PLCs are being formed in different areas.
What Lead Teachers Do
There is no strictly defined ‘template’ for Lead Teachers – from one QEC to the next, Lead Teachers will do different things based on their context. However, there are some expectations for Lead Teachers – though these will be realized differently in each QEC.
The role of Lead Teachers falls into 3 broad categories
Technical: Activities that are aimed at developing and delivering developmental opportunities for teachers.
Administrative: Activities a Lead Teacher does in order to support and advance their technical roles.
Auxiliary: Activities (such as training) that the Lead Teacher does because of the special role they play in a QEC. Auxiliary activities may be unrelated to the Lead Teacher’s PLC.
Here are some of the activities that Lead Teachers will do:
You can click here to see more information about how Lead Teachers work
