The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP) was named the 2025 recipient of the Teacher Powered Schools Partnership Award, presented last month at the annual Teacher Powered Schools Conference in Ypsilanti, Mich. The national award honors partnerships between schools, districts, and teachers’ unions that exemplify the power of collaboration and shared leadership to empower educators, students, and families.
Since its founding in 2015, SEZP has forged a groundbreaking partnership with the Springfield Education Assoc. (SEA) that reimagines what is possible when educators are trusted to lead. Through a series of teacher contracts — with the latest ratified by 93% of union members this past June — teachers have gained expanded decision-making power in critical areas such as working conditions, curriculum, and school design, while also receiving higher compensation than their district peers for the additional time dedicated to teacher collaboration and leadership.
Central to this success are SEZP’s teacher leadership teams, school-based groups that ensure teachers have a formal, consistent voice in decisions that shape instruction, culture, and operations. Together, SEZP and the SEA have created a model of shared leadership that continues to attract national attention for its ability to combine teacher empowerment with improved outcomes for students.
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