Empowered Educators Get Results: How 3 Districts Made It Happen

NIET’s 25 years of proven impact were recently spotlighted on national TV through the Empowered series, highlighting our innovative approach to strengthening teaching and learning across the country. Shared across major networks, the feature illustrated what sets NIET apart: A proven record of creating instructional systems that support educators at every level. 

“NIET’s mission is to build educator excellence to create opportunities for all students,” said NIET CEO Dr. Joshua Barnett. “We do that by working with states, universities, school districts, and schools to provide intentional, sustained, and high-quality support for educators and leaders in each building.”

The impact of NIET can be seen in classrooms, schools, and districts daily. Through coaching and mentorship, leadership development, and support for the use of high-quality instructional materials, we equip teachers to grow, schools to thrive, and students to succeed. 

Keep reading to learn how three partner school districts are transforming student outcomes by building educator excellence.

Investment in a Leadership Pipeline Retains Talent   

Gadsden Elementary School District #32 has found a strong current of success through its “grow your own” leadership pipeline of teachers who coach colleagues and lead collaborative teams of teachers, while remaining in the classroom. This approach has strengthened instructional practices across the system and built a sustainable pipeline of leaders. Today, 75% of Gadsden principals have direct experience as teacher leaders, demonstrating the effectiveness of this model.

Serving a vibrant, rural community along the U.S.-Mexico border, Gadsden has been a model of success since partnering with NIET in 2011. Through the use of NIET’s TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement model of strategic staffing, educators tailor strategies to meet diverse student needs, yielding impressive results. Over the past two years, since Arizona began issuing district letter grades, Gadsden has consistently received a “B” rating. From 2021 to 2024, the district improved its performance on state assessments by 9 points in English language arts and 13 points in math – further closing achievement gaps with the state. These achievements highlight how investing in teacher leadership transforms student outcomes.

The best principals come from our Master Teacher roles. The leadership skills they learn put them head and shoulders above other candidates for the principalship. This enables us to grow our own leaders who already have strong connections to our community and a track record of success with our students.

Bethany Loucks, Principal, Rio Colorado Elementary School

Watch: 2025 District Award Recipient: Gadsden Elementary School District #32, Arizona

Instructional Leadership Teams Create a Foundation for Success

Partnering with NIET has transformed DeSoto Parish Schools into a hub of growth for both teachers and students through its implementation of Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs). With direct support from NIET, Instructional Leadership Teams collaborate to design and develop long-range plans, reflect on ways to drive continuous improvement through student data, and analyze growth plans to strengthen instruction. This sustained professional learning equips educators with the tools to foster consistent, high-quality instruction, ultimately improving both teacher effectiveness and student achievement across the district.

This culture of reflection and collaboration has driven higher teacher effectiveness and stronger student outcomes within DeSoto Parish Schools, with its most recent LEAP scores outpacing the state average by a full 8 percentage points for students in grades 3-12 who achieved a district-wide Master+ rate.

These investments are equipping our leaders with the skills and resources to impact growth in not only themselves, but ultimately in the teachers and students they serve.

Clay Corley, Superintendent, DeSoto Parish School District, Louisiana

Watch: 2024 Founder’s Award Recipient: North DeSoto High School, Louisiana

Longstanding Teacher Leadership Model Leads to International Recognition

Cross County High School in Cross County School District took home the 2022 NIET Founder’s Award after its graduation rates jumped from 77% to 95% in seven years. The school also stood out during the pandemic by outperforming statewide student performance. Cross County’s experience highlights how NIET’s teacher leadership model can foster genuine, lasting success.

In addition to the district’s success through its partnership with NIET, Cross County Elementary Technology Academy (CCETA) was named a finalist for T4 Educations’ World’s Best School Prizes in the Overcoming Adversity category, recognized for its dedication to excellence in teaching and learning, as well as its efforts to build resilience and lifelong skills for success among students despite the economic hardships many face. As a school in a rural area with limited access to resources, CCETA has found multiple ways to ensure that its students and educators can thrive, including through its longstanding partnership with NIET.

For our small school and our small community, the partnership with NIET came around at the best moment because we were looking to reform our school, support our teachers more, make them even more effective, grow our students, and help them achieve more.

Stephen Prince, Master Teacher, Cross County High School, Arkansas

Read more: NIET Partner Named Finalist in World’s Best School Prizes Competition