The Teacher Leader Fellowship is a meaningful year of coaching and growth, school visits, mentor communities, and a culminating Impact Project. What actually happens to an educator over the course of a year in this program is harder to summarize.
We asked two of our 2025-26 fellows to tell us themselves.
Isormari Pozo is an ESL educator who used the Fellowship to redesign how multilingual learners (especially at-risk seniors) have a voice in the systems that serve them.
Stacy Gayle is a teacher who came into the Fellowship thinking about leadership one way and left seeing it entirely differently. Both of them are generous, honest, and specific about what this year meant to them.
On bringing the Fellowship back into the building
Isormari: “One of the most impactful practices I brought back was intentionally elevating student voice as a driver for change. Through the Fellowship, I deepened my understanding of how structured opportunities for student feedback and advocacy can inform systems and instruction. I implemented grade-level ESL student meetings and feedback loops, which allowed students — especially at-risk seniors — to express their needs and experiences. This directly influenced how we adjusted supports like intervention time and instructional strategies in our building.”
Stacy: “A practice from the Fellowship that I have carried back into my classroom is understanding that ‘Leadership is Action, Not Position.’ The best way I am able to be an active leader is to be a positive amplifier for those that I teach.”
Both responses point to something the Fellowship is designed to do: shift teachers from responding to the immediate demands of the classroom toward building systems that outlast any single lesson or school year. Isormari redesigned a feedback structure. Stacy reoriented her entire understanding of what leadership looks like in practice.
On seeing yourself differently as a leader
Isormari: “The Fellowship helped me see myself not just as a support for teachers, but as a systems-level leader. It shifted my mindset from addressing individual challenges to identifying and redesigning structures that impact student outcomes. I now approach my role with greater confidence in leading change, using data, student voice, and collaboration to improve both instruction and school-wide systems for multilingual learners.”
Stacy: “One way the Fellowship has changed how I see myself as a leader is that I see leadership less as having the best answers and more as creating the conditions for others to think, contribute, and lead. Reading ‘Coaching for Equity’ by Elena Aguilar, I feel I have a clearer purpose in what my role should be as a leader. By being committed to creating spaces where myself and others can learn and grow, we can make the learning community connected and stronger.”
This shift from individual expert to conditions-creator is one of the quieter but most significant things the Fellowship builds. The teachers who walk through this program don’t leave with a bag of new strategies. They leave with a new lens on their role and the confidence to use it.
What they’d tell a teacher who’s on the fence
Isormari: “I would tell them that the Fellowship is a powerful opportunity to grow both personally and professionally. It challenges you to think beyond your classroom and equips you with the tools, language, and confidence to lead meaningful change in your school. If you are passionate about improving outcomes for students and ready to reflect on your practice, this experience is absolutely worth it.”
Stacy: “The value of this Fellowship isn’t just in what you learn — it’s in how it changes the way you approach being a leader within your school community. I’d also emphasize the community of educators who are asking similar questions and facing similar challenges. That network becomes a real source of support and ideas. This Fellowship helps one to think, grow, and reflect on strategies that will enhance their abilities to be an effective leader.”
Both of them point to the same thing: community. The Fellowship is not a solo experience. It is a year spent alongside educators who are doing similar work, navigating similar tensions, and choosing to grow together.
One more thing from Stacy
We want to leave you with this, because it says something the program description alone never could:
“It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this cohort (2025-2026). I have learned so much that my arsenal is full and ready to lead. It was great working with a dedicated leadership team that was supportive every step of the way. It was also amazing to learn, share, listen, and grow alongside other dedicated educators who are on the same path toward our diverse community.”
Arsenal full, ready to lead. That is exactly what this Fellowship is for.