Designing strategic supports to ensure success with the transition for new teachers

Supporting new teachers beyond the beginning of the year through targeted mentoring, coaching, and other PD supports.

Challenge: If new teachers are not well supported and guided through their beginning experience, the transition can be deeply challenging and even jarring, reducing the likelihood of their success and tenure at the school.

Details: New teachers, whether they are new to teaching, new to a district or network, or new to an instructional model, go through significant change and learning when starting at a new district or network. In order to ensure the early experience builds a strong, positive foundation, schools design various supports to build a network of supports, targeted coaching, and intentional development for new educators. These structures are intentionally and carefully designed to ensure success and sustainability of new teachers, with the goal of high retention of master teachers. These structures include:

• Cohort-based learning
• Mentors
• Targeted professional development sessions
• Multi-year onboarding

Examples:

• Henry County Schools runs a 3-year onboarding program for new teachers, building the foundation in three areas: content expertise, assessment, and classroom management. The first year is most involved, with an induction week and meetings throughout the year. Years two and three are personalized based on need, when educators continually learn through coaching, mentors, professional learning communities, and micro-credentials.
• Natick Public Schools has a 3-year onboarding period for teachers new to the district, leading to tenure at the end of the period. Teachers are very intentionally hired based on fit and receive targeted mentoring, coaching, observations, and PD. Teachers also take two graduate-level courses led by Natick staff — Skillful Teacher and Teaching, Learning, & Innovation — and are able to self-select into other courses based on need and interest.

Teacher Actions:

• New teachers: engage in specialized new teacher professional learning opportunities and supports.
• Other teachers: support new teachers as mentors.

Leader Actions:

• Design personalized professional learning plans based on teacher needs and interests.
• Coach and model practices with/for teachers.

Technology Supports:

• House online courses or micro-credentials.