The National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) recently released a white paper, "Re-imagining Teaching". The paper focuses on five ways to strengthen the teaching profession. A panel of former state teachers of the year kicked off a discussion of it at the Fordham Foundation last week.

Panelist Megan Allen, the Florida state teacher of the year in 2010, detailed a typical day for her last year as a hybrid "teacher-preneur." It consisted of an exhausting 12-hour day all across town, starting with a before-school reading group, teaching classes, team and faculty meetings at school, parent phone calls, meetings with district leaders and foundations, a Skype meeting, team planning time and, lastly, a webinar. Whew, we need a nap just hearing about it.

Her schedule for the day brings up the obvious question - is this sustainable? Can we have an effective "hybrid" teacher role within the scope of a normal teacher day? Right now, the average teacher work day for districts that NCTQ tracks is about seven-and-a-half hours, much of which is spent providing student instruction. While adding to the day is one approach to hybrid jobs, we're interested in learning more about districts or schools that have broken the mold and managed to provide opportunities for teachers that allow them to continue teaching AND be leaders without burning the midnight oil. Know of one? Tell us about it in the comments section below.