When
the new school year begins, many of you will be welcoming not only new
students, but new teachers, too. What support might these teachers wish for as
they transition into their new professional home? I’ve spent the last two days
with early-career teachers who have provided some insight into that question.
Our
retreat was a human-centered design challenge to consider the question: How do
we keep talented early-career teachers in the profession? One of the strongest
themes to emerge was that meaningful support from coaches and mentors is
important.
Many
states or districts have mandated mentoring programs that sometimes feel like
busy-work: checking the necessary boxes to fill the requirement. Sometimes the
assigned mentorships work; if they are lucky, new teachers are assigned a
mentor who they click with, who shares their teaching philosophies and is
willing to learn with them. But many times
these formal mentorships fall flat. The partnerships are not well-matched,
often because expert teachers feel they cannot add one more thing to their own
busy professional lives.
However,
many of the teachers at our retreat spoke positively of the support they’d
received from their building coaches. The informal, un-mandated connections
they made with these colleagues helped them navigate the expectations of a new
system and were a valuable place to turn when the going got rough.
And
sometimes, it was the littlest things that mattered. “Don’t just assume
everything’s going fine,” one teacher said. “Stop by and ask, ‘How was your
day? Is there anything you need?’ Check in. Listen to my needs and support me.”
“Talk to me,” another said. “Don’t be a stranger.” Although new teachers need
to know who and how to ask for help, another teacher went further, opening up
to suggest, “Anticipate my needs, since I may not ask!” That sounds like a tall
order, but coaches, who know instruction, who know the kids and the system, are
in the best position to do just that.
Time,
for all of us, is something we just don’t have enough of. A root-cause analysis
of almost any problem ends up including a reference to lack of time. This is
certainly true when examining the challenges facing early-career teachers. Their
planning takes longer and they are learning about new people and places. For
many early-career teachers, these changes also come at a time when they are
“adulting” – taking on the responsibilities of managing their own budget,
bills, insurance, etc. One of their
biggest challenges is deciding how to prioritize their time. The teachers I
worked with described how helpful coaches could be with this dilemma. Help new
teachers consider: Which teaching approaches will give them the most bang for
their buck? What deadlines are approaching? What matters most in this building?
Teachers without this guidance talked about “surprise responsibilities” and
deadlines that caught them off guard.
Another
way coaches can help is by providing models of good instruction. This
could mean teaching a lesson in the early-career teacher’s classroom, or it could mean
making arrangements for her to observe another teacher. Better yet, it could mean creating an open-door culture in the school, where all teachers benefit from
the opportunity to observe one another!
Coaches
provide support when they offer resources, tips for navigating the system, opportunities
to learn and reflect on teaching practice, or just a listening ear. These
supports can make all the difference. “A
strong support system is what helped me not give up during my first year,” one
teacher said.
Although
early-career teachers want support, they also have much to offer, and they want
to be valued. They have energy and ideas to contribute. They want to share
their thinking and have their voice be heard. “Just because I’m new doesn’t
mean I don’t know anything,” one teacher said. “Let’s be intellectual
together!” another suggested. Collaborating with early-career teachers can be a
win-win.
I
was surprised by how often the term “mentoring” came up over the course of our
two-day conversation. Teachers new to a building, especially if they are
early-career teachers, are looking for “their people” – people they can relate
with professionally, people they can bounce ideas off of and learn from and
with. People who will make a personal investment in their growth. Oftentimes,
building coaches can be those people.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
These
collections of blog posts and resources for new teachers:
Building a school community through
favorite books:
Kids’ ideas about student engagement:
Rewards of writing with honesty:
The students are why we stay in
teaching:
That’s it for this week. Happy
Coaching!
