This article presents a critical discussion of the implications of allocating the most experienced and skilled teachers in schools to teacher leadership positions. Placing such teachers in leadership positions supports school improvement initiatives, but it can also pull valuable teaching resources from the classroom. The article examines this issue by investigating how expertise is distributed between teacher leaders and regular classroom teachers in urban schools implementing comprehensive school reform programs. Results indicate that teacher leaders have substantially more postsecondary training and teaching experience than do nonleaders. The implications of these results are discussed.
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