In our "Bright Spots & Big Ideas in Teacher Induction" series, we chatted with special ed teacher Charlie Josephson about how her coach helped her navigate her first years teaching in Minnesota's Students with Unique Needs program.
Beyond the already significant stressors of starting a career in education, new special education teachers face additional, sometimes overwhelming, challenges. Fortunately, our partners tell us our induction model uniquely aligns with the needs of novices in this high-demand area. We talked with an experienced special education instructional coach with Minnesota’s Southwest West Central Service Cooperative, Jess Robinson, to get more specific about what she’s learned is critical in providing quality mentoring for these talented and committed beginning teachers.
Quality mentoring isn't just about guidance — it's a pathway to teacher leadership. Meet Pinky Grace Francisco, 2024 Kau-Kea'au-Pahoa Complex Teacher of the Year and multilingual learner leader. Discover how her experience in Hawai'i's teacher induction program transformed her journey from mentee to mentor.
For 15+years, NTC has worked closely with Hawai’i’s State Department of Education (HIDOE), beginning with a collaboration designed to establish one of six “new teacher centers” in some of the largest districts in the country. This is the kind of reciprocal learning partnership we thrive on. Today, we are still partnering with the HIDOE to support teacher development, and state induction leaders continue to bring wisdom and innovation to our National Program Leader Network conversations and work overall.
Mentors are a critical lever for teacher success and retention. Rachel Baker, a mentor teacher specialist in Calvert County Public Schools in Maryland, shared her journey with New Teacher Center, emphasizing the importance of validating teachers’ knowledge, commitment, and experience to foster their growth.
When we are trying to assess the impact of our work, we need to ask the right question. Are we helping to create learning settings in which students can engage at their highest cognitive and creative potential? Our measurement tools and how we define success along the way need to help us understand if we are doing that and, if not, how we can do better.
Meeting the needs of today’s new teacher workforce to help keep them in the classroom calls for comprehensive induction support and the kind of responsive and personalized, instructionally focused mentoring that NTC is known for. Learn how our partners in Fresno USD are using our mentoring model to provide tailored coaching support for new teachers with provisional licenses.
New Teacher Center staff reflect on insights from an internal session with Dr. Jose Medina on linguistic liberation, embracing a mindset of abundance in supporting multilingual learners, and fostering affirming, enriching student environments.
Our partners in Hawai’i are always looking for “grassroots” ways to co-create, test new ideas, and build local capacity. The Educator Leader Assessment Collaborative, a pilot project to lay the foundation for a locally relevant, balanced assessment program across Hawai’i’s diverse school system, is no exception.
In education, women's leadership isn't just important—it's crucial for building inclusive school environments and driving student success. Chief Operating Officer and former 6th-grade teacher Sabrina Plassman, and Vice President of Finance and Business Operations Cheryl Leong who previously worked in California schools overseeing finance, budget, and compliance, advocate for systemic changes to empower female education leaders. They share insights and perspectives highlighting the urgency of fostering strong female leadership to drive positive change in schools nationwide.