Fall 26 TLC Teacher Leadership Newsletter
10 November 2026
Greetings educators, Welcome to the Fall 2026 issue of the Teacher Leadership Newsletter, centered on the theme of working together. Inside, you’ll learn about Teachers Lead Chicago’s district-wide footprint, collaborative teacher leadership at Gallistel Elementary, professional growth opportunities, and actionable practices to support your daily wellness and leadership journey.
Working Together
The Importance of Collaborative School Cultures in CPS
Teaching is most impactful when it is a collective effort. Research finds that high-retention schools successfully cultivate collaborative professional cultures where novice and veteran educators work side-by-side, sharing curriculum and behavior management strategies. Moving away from isolated practices ensures that no teacher feels left behind or personally responsible for systemic classroom challenges.
Teachers Lead Chicago (TLC) roles empower educators with coaching and mentorship at every stage of their career, creating meaningful impacts on teacher retention, student learning, and school environment.
- Comprehensive Induction Roles: Roles like Resident Mentor and School-Based New Teacher Mentor ensure new educators receive the comprehensive induction proven to accelerate professional confidence and student success (Ingersoll & Strong, UPenn).
- Instructional Leadership Roles: Roles like Instructional Team Coach and Lead Coach empower experienced teachers to advance school-wide priorities while boosting peer collaboration and providing non-evaluative instructional support.
TLC By the Numbers
Schools across the district partner with TLC year after year to embed teacher leadership into their school culture and drive widespread teacher practice shifts. Here is a snapshot of that momentum:
- 260+ TLC schools across the district
- 600+ TLC Teacher Leaders leading their peers
- 123,000+ students impacted
TLC Teacher Leader Highlight
In this newsletter edition, we spotlight a team of Instructional Team Coaches who combine their strengths to champion schoolwide progress. Discover how their collaborative approach fosters collective efficacy and creates a lasting positive impact across their school community.
About the Role
An Instructional Team Coach (ITC) is a partially released full-time teacher with a track record of strong instructional practice who seeks to expand impact at their school by facilitating peer coaching. They lead one or more teams of teachers through learning cycles, maintain a Model Classroom, and serve as an Instructional Leadership Team member.
Ines Ornelas & Matthew Grudzien
Instructional Team Coaches
Gallistel Elementary School
Leadership Inspiration
Ines- My journey into instructional coaching grew from mentoring teachers and sharing strategies with colleagues. I want every student to have a mathematical voice and opportunities to share their thinking. Becoming an Instructional Team Coach allowed me to support that goal beyond my own classroom while learning alongside other teachers.
Matthew- Over the years, my roles as an ILT member, math team lead, teacher coach, New Teacher Mentor, and MTSS math specialist have all shaped my path toward becoming an Instructional Team Coach. Becoming an Instructional Team Coach helped me broaden my impact as an educator - helping teachers develop their craft so that Gallistel students receive a high-quality learning environment.
Leadership Experience
Ines- Throughout my 19 years at Gallistel, I have coached and mentored colleagues, including serving as a formal New Teacher Mentor. Now in my second year as a Math Instructional Team Coach, I support collaborative planning and student progress monitoring. My leadership experience includes contributing to CIWP development through the Instructional Leadership Team, facilitating professional development, participating in rigor walks, and using the Atlas Protocol to guide data discussions. As a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, I continue connecting research with classroom practice to strengthen my teaching and coaching.
Matthew- I have served as a teacher leader for over five years, currently in my second year as an Instructional Team Coach and previously serving as Math Lead for three years. Throughout my career in education, I’ve held several key leadership positions, including MTSS Math Specialist—where I coached both individual teachers and departmental teams—and New Teacher Mentor, where I developed training strategies I still use today to support new and untenured staff. Prior to working in education, I managed the onboarding and frontline training for two separate hospitality concepts. Between concepts, I ran a small construction business where I led a team of 10 employees.
Collaboration & Impact
We bring different strengths to our shared goal of strengthening mathematics instruction at Gallistel. Together, we collaborate on professional learning, share instructional strategies, and support colleagues in examining student progress. We practice distributed leadership by making room for teachers to contribute their expertise, reflect on instruction, and learn from one another. Our shared focus is helping teachers create meaningful opportunities for students to participate, explain their reasoning, and develop confidence in mathematics.
School & Community Value
Working together as Instructional Team Coaches allows us to bring different strengths and perspectives to a shared purpose: supporting teachers and helping every student succeed. Our collaboration connects learning across classrooms and builds shared responsibility for school improvement. We find joy in learning alongside our colleagues, seeing shared ideas take shape in classrooms, and watching students grow in confidence as they share their mathematical thinking.
Our collaboration connects learning across classrooms and builds shared responsibility for school improvement.Ines Ornelas & Matthew Grudzien
To learn more about the Instructional Team Coach role and supports, visit the opportunity page.
Professional Opportunities
CPS partners with accredited institutions to provide opportunities to earn college credit, graduate-level degrees, certifications, and endorsements at a significant discount.
- Loyola University offers a 30% tuition reduction for the Special Education Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway. Graduate programs include the Special Education Endorsement Certificate (LBS1), MEd Special Education, and MEd Applied Behavior Analysis. To learn more, visit their website.
For more information about continuing education opportunities, visit cps.edu/keeplearning on the employee intranet or email keeplearning@cps.edu.
Lead with CPS
Lead with CPS posts various leadership and professional learning opportunities for teachers, school leaders, network and central office staff throughout the year. Stay in the loop by searching for programs that support your growth and development.
External
The following organizations offer additional teacher leadership development opportunities.
Chicago Teachers Union Nurturing Teacher Leadership Program
Nurturing Teacher Leadership is a free two-year professional development program that prepares current CPS teachers, counselors, librarians, and speech pathologists for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. This is the highest credential a teacher or counselor can earn. Rules and eligibility requirements apply. To learn more, visit their website or contact Lynn Cherkasky-Davis, lynncherkasky-davis@ctuf.org.
The next recruitment meeting for the 2027-2029 cohort is scheduled Tuesday, November 17, 2026 from 6pm to 8:30pm. Register here.
Featured Funding Opportunity
Fund for Teachers Grant
Apply now for a 2027 Fund for Teachers Grant which sponsors projects that have the potential to empower students as change makers for problems in their communities. Grants are up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $10,000 for teams. All pre-K–12th grade educators with 3+ years of experience and spend at least 50% of their time directly providing instruction to students are eligible to apply.
Applications are due January 21, 2027. To learn more:
- Register for an upcoming information session (11/11/26 and 12/9/26)
- View the Fund for Teachers Grant brochure
- Visit their website
Featured Resource
CPS Teacher Leadership Framework SY27
Chicago Public Schools advances districtwide teacher leadership to strengthen instruction, collaboration, and student success. To support this, CPS developed the Teacher Leader Framework, which defines core competencies and district expectations to recruit, develop, and maximize the impact of effective teacher leaders.
Teacher leaders use this framework to understand the expectations and competencies for teacher leadership, assess their current strengths, identify areas for growth, and set goals that align with their leadership role and context.
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