Asked & Answered

By Anonymous

Q. I’m looking for ways to support new teachers to my school and district. Most of the new teachers are also first-year teachers.

A: In an issue brief for the National Governors’ Association (Mentoring and Supporting New Teachers, 2002), Bridget Curran and Liam Goldrick note that there are three stages to induction: survival and discovery, which is the focus of induction programs; experimentation and consolodation; and mastery and stabilization. They assert that induction lasts longer than a year and that successful induction programs orient new teachers to the culture of teaching, provide training in curriculum and management skills, mentor their development, and assess their progress.

Many schools and school districts use mentoring to support their new teachers, which can be highly effective part of any induction program. In his September 2002 article for Principal Leadership (“Getting the Most out of New-Teacher Mentoring Programs”), however, Tom Ganser cautions against expecting too much from a mentoring program. A teacher’s success, says Ganser, depends on his or her knowledge, skills, and disposition; the workplace conditions; and the elements of induction that move a new teacher from being an outsider to being an insider, whether that teacher is in his or her first year of teaching or a veteran teacher in a new school. Although mentoring can help develop new teachers’ knowledge, skills, and disposition, it is not enough to help integrate new hires into your school.

In their Tips for Principals (“Now That You’ve Got Them, How Do You Keep Them?” Principal Leadership, September 2002), Mary Ann Hardebeck and Judy B. Warme suggest several strategies to support new teachers, starting with giving consideration to new teacher placements. New teachers-especially first-year teachers-should receive time to master one curriculum, teach in one classroom, and teach “regular” students. Curran and Goldrick agree that overseeing new teachers’ working conditions is an important part of the induction process. They suggest that new teachers should be assigned subjects they are qualified to teach and given students who are not the most challenging. Schools should also offer new teachers targeted professional development and opportunities to observe and be observed by veteran teachers.

Second, Hardebeck and Warme suggest forming an entry plan to welcome new teachers, whether they are first-year teachers or veteran teachers who are new to the school. For example, greet your new teachers and give them a school Tshirt or mug and a copy of The First Days of School by Harry and Rosemary Wong. Take your new teachers on a bus tour of feeder neighborhoods and host a cookout for them. Ensure that new teachers’ classrooms are stocked with supplies. Ask a master teacher to be a “shepherd” for new teachers for the first few weeks of school. This person would not focus on curricular and classroom issues, but answer questions about school and district policies and practices. Be aware that some new hires will be new not only to the school but also the district. Consider preparing a welcome packet that has information about finding housing, doctors, and dentists as well as dry cleaners, auto repair shops, and nearby ATMs.

Establish a support team for your newbies, Hardebeck and Warme suggest, and make a habit of checking in with them often: “Administrators often forget how demoralizing that first angry parent can be or what it feels like not to know where things are.” Let teachers know about district and school resources. Meet regularly with your new teachers as a group to clarify issues, listen to their concerns, and let them bond as a group.

The inaugural issue of Principal’s Research Review, “Effective Practices in New Teacher Induction,” which was sent with the December 2005 issue of NASSP Bulletin, contains additional ideas for how to support new teachers.

Q. Does anyone have a dress code for prom?

A: In his October 2002 article for Leadership for Student Activities (“Defining Acceptable Standards for Prom”), Dave Baker described the process he and several other principals went through to create guidelines for prom. First, the principals of several nearby schools gathered to discuss music, dress code, and behavior guidelines for their proms. The group then obtained a copy of the behavior guidelines that a local college enforced at its school dances. The group used the notes from their initial meeting and the college’s guidelines to create a common document that would be used in all their schools and shared with their superintendent and faculties. In the months before the prom, the principals ensured that the guidelines were disseminated in their schools. Teachers were asked to post the guidelines in their classrooms, and school newspapers ran announcements about the guidelines. The guidelines were shared with parent groups and groups that were planning postprom activities, as well as the school board.

Questions are adapted from the NASSP message boards. If you have a question that you’d like to see answered in Asked & Answered, send it to plmag@principals.org or post it on one of the message boards at www.principals.org.

Copyright National Association of Secondary School Principals Feb 2006