No matter your role in education, (teacher, coach, principal, assistant, etc.) your title doesn’t even scratch the surface of the many hats you wear. “Teacher,” for example, also implies that at any moment of any day you may need to take on the duties of a nurse, counselor, secretary, mediator, or copy machine technician . . . to name of few. Teaching is hard.
Teachers need support. But did you know that this support often times comes from one another? I am beyond grateful for the fellow educators in my life that have supported me, problem-solved with me, and believed in me. Educators take care of one another. We know how hard it is. And we also know that when teachers collaborate, help each other, support one another — it’s kids that benefit.
Amelia Brown
It is critical that our newest teachers just beginning their careers are surrounded by a strong support system. Kentucky’s formal internship program for new teachers (KTIP) was a structured plan to assist teachers in their first year. That program is no longer funded. But many Kentucky administrators and teachers have not let it phase them. Many have seamlessly swooped in to put strategies and teams in place this year so that new teachers get the encouragement and assistance they need.
For example, at the school-level, Taylor Mill Elementary in the Kenton County School District has created a partner system. Every teacher has been strategically placed with another teacher in the building. This becomes the teacher’s go-to person for support and accountability. This two-way relationship builds trust and competency for both parties. They have also instituted a new teacher cadre via Voxer. Voxer is a mobile app that turns your phone into a walkie-talkie group chat. This has already proven helpful to the new teachers at Taylor Mill this year as they can get answers to their questions in real time.
Regionally, the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services has planned a New Teacher Academy series.
This academy — led by educators — plans on coming together in person four times throughout the school year to share resources and build skill around classroom management, instructional strategies, and working with diverse learners. Not only will this allow new teachers to connect with other new teachers for support, but also with veteran teachers for guidance.
At the state level, a small group of Hope Street Group teaching fellows, have banded together to create a website with the sole purpose of supporting and elevating new teachers in their passion for teaching and learning. The website, Kentucky SENT, launched on August 13th.
It houses go-to resources that new teachers need to have at their fingertips about topics like cultural competency, exceptional learners, curriculum, student engagement, social-emotional learning, and much more. But the beauty of this initiative is that it is not just a consumable website. The educators behind this are acting as coaches. They have included a Q&A section on the website in which new teachers can pose questions and receive answers. The coaches are hoping that from these Q&As, they can even develop mentoring relationships that continue throughout the school year. In addition, they are setting up a platform for other experienced teachers to share their expertise on a variety of topics through via Google Meet presentations that new teachers can join and participate in. If you know a teacher in his or her first five years in the classroom–share this resource!
These recent initiatives have me beaming with pride to be a Kentucky educator. It’s hard, but we take care of one another–regardless of funding or programs–because we care about the quality of instruction for our Kentucky kids.
Amelia Brown is a Professional Learning Coach with the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services. She has 18 years of experience teaching in grades K-5. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Literacy and a 2017-19 Hope Street Group Kentucky Teacher Fellow.
