While every year of teaching comes with its own obstacles, the first year of teaching is by far the most challenging. The idealized expectations are quickly replaced by reality, and without the right guidance and tools, new teachers can find themselves too overwhelmed to carry on teaching after the first year.
In fact, studies show that new teachers with little or no preparation are more than twice as likely to leave teaching than those who are fully prepared and have high-quality mentorship. And really, who can blame them?
As the teacher shortage grows by the day, providing your new teachers with intentional and comprehensive support from the get-go is imperative for not only keeping teachers in the profession but keeping teachers at your school.
We see time and time again that one-off PD training doesn’t contribute to either teacher growth or student achievement. Rather, partnering your new teachers with job-embedded, personalized coaching fosters a supportive, collaborative school culture and is proven to transform daily practice and student learning.
When third-grade teacher Melissa Tejada began her first year of teaching in the fall of 2019, she found herself at Beneke Elementary School in Spring ISD. In partnership with engage2learn (e2L), the campus was in the process of implementing their new Empowered Learning Model to engage students in critical thinking, problem solving, and ownership of their learning and provide teachers with one-on-one coaches.
Melissa was among the teachers provided with a personalized coach through this implementation process. Empowered by the guidance, tools, and best practices from her coach, as well as her fierce dedication to her students, Melissa was selected as Rookie Teacher of the Year for the 2019-2020 school year and Bilingual Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year.
“Coaching has helped get me where I am today. I always knew that teaching needed to be about collaboration. We ask our kids to collaborate and work with each other, so we as teachers have to do the same thing because we never stop learning.”
Melissa Tejada
Similarly, new teacher Baylee McCarroll in Abilene ISD worked alongside her coach to develop the kind of inclusive, uplifting learning environment that she’d dreamed of for her students. Rather than falling into the trap of teaching-to-the-middle, Baylee began to master the classroom and instructional best practices that allowed her to design lessons and activities to meet every student right where they are with compassion and encouragement.
“As a teacher, we don’t want to go to a student and say, ‘You did this wrong,’” said Baylee. “Just like we provide that positivity and encouragement for our students, my coach came in to encourage me. It was a huge motivator. Suddenly, I was like, ‘Oh, I can do this.’”
RELATED: Measuring the Impact of e2L Coaching on Teacher Retention
If you’re ready to equip your new teachers with the tools and confidence to be the best teachers they can be for years to come, start a partnership with e2L today!