Your Classroom, Your Voice: Building Teacher Agency For Lasting Impact

Teachers are closest to students, yet professional growth is often defined for them rather than by them. Traditional professional development, while sometimes useful, can leave educators feeling disconnected, undervalued, and exhausted. What’s missing is teacher agency–the ability for teachers to direct their own learning, make professional decisions grounded in expertise, and advocate for the conditions that allow both them and their students to thrive.

This teacher agency solution guide reframes professional growth by putting teachers at the center. It draws on insights from the Leveraging Teacher Agency webinar and the lived experiences of educators who are leading with their voices. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all path, this resource emphasizes the difference between compliance-driven professional development and empowering professional learning. It equips teachers with practical strategies to reflect on your classroom needs, collaborate with peers, join fellowships, pursue certification pathways, and take small but powerful steps toward advocacy.

The guide also highlights professional learning resources that expand teacher choice and voice, including Lexia Aspire® Professional Learning, which offers flexible, teacher-centered pathways, and Lexia® LETRS® Professional Learning, which builds deep literacy expertise. Both are positioned not as directives, but as tools teachers can leverage to grow on their own terms.

Ultimately, this solution guide helps teachers see agency not just as an idea, but as a daily practice. It invites you to claim ownership of your growth, sustain your motivation, and step into your role as an advocate for students and the profession.