Supporting New Teachers
By Peter W. Cookson, Jr.

If your school does not already have a fully developed new teacher program, I suggest you do something subversive and start your own. If you teach in a small school, you may consider joining with other schools in creating your new teacher program. From my experience, here are the elements of a successful new teacher program:

• Respect. I've attended hundreds of meetings of new teachers, conducted new teacher focus groups throughout the country and spent many hours observing new teachers teaching. First and foremost, the wonderful women and men who go into teaching desire respect and to be treated as professionals. Too often new teachers do not have the voice they should have when it comes to the organization of their work and to the life of the school. Make sure your program has as its core values, respect and professionalism.
• Overcoming isolation. For people who have never taught it's difficult to understand how isolating the teaching profession can be. Teachers are in their classrooms with their students with very few breaks; the chance to interact with other adults is limited and very often there is no telephone or other way of communicating beyond the classroom. I suggest that you meet regularly for a minimum of two hours. The conversations held within that time period should be confidential; a new teachers' support group is built on trust and trust develops when we have confidence in our relationships.
• Building community. Understanding and appreciating the backgrounds of your students is the key to a harmonious classroom and also a key to students' success. Your first-year teacher program might include home visits, neighborhood visits and interviews with community members who can help you better understand the world of your students and the possibilities they bring with them to your classroom.
• Comprehensive curriculum. While good new teacher programs include plenty of time for shared stories, concerns and hopes, experience has shown that a strong curricular spine, preferably over an academic year, is an essential ingredient for a successful program. The curriculum should be comprehensive, interactive and touch on the real needs of teachers as they go through their developmental year. Here are some of the ingredients of such a curriculum:
• Classroom management. Some new teachers have great instincts about managing their classrooms. Most of us, however, need guidance and advice as to how best to organize our classrooms. Classroom management includes not only the physical arrangements of the classroom, but the human qualities of a true learning community. All great teachers are also great classroom managers, although they may have different strategies. Creating that balance between structure and spontaneity is an art form, but also a science. I suggest that your new teacher curriculum provide a great deal of information on classroom management strategies, types of discipline and tips about how best to deal with student behaviors and misbehaviors.
• Literacy. In the early years there is no question that literacy is the key learning objective. Children who cannot communicate fluently and consistently are at a terrible disadvantage not only in school but outside of school as well. I suggest that your new teacher program contain plenty of examples of approaches to literacy that can be applied quickly to the classroom setting. There's a lot to learn about reading, writing and speaking - and literacy also includes numeracy as well as technological sophistication.
• Assessment. For many new teachers the entire process of assessing their students seems Byzantine and confusing. The distinction between a formative and summative test, for instance, is often lost on new teachers. I suggest that in your new teacher program a considerable part of the curriculum be dedicated to enhancing teachers' understanding of assessments, their origins, their administration, their uses and their abuses.
• Celebration. There is so much to celebrate about being a teacher. Be sure to build in time for celebration, culminating in a year-end gathering where student work can be demonstrated, where your projects can be shown and where you can share with your colleagues the achievements of the year. Invite other teachers and administrators so that they can see how powerful such a program can be in producing learning outcomes.

You became a teacher because you believed it's one of the highest occupational callings we can receive. Teachers not only transmit the past, but shape the future. To retain this sense of mission and sensitivity is critical not only for retaining new teachers, but also for creating the best teachers possible. All good teachers relate well to their students, are sensitive to their needs and yet are driven by the dynamic of learning. I certainly hope that professional development is included in your activities. If you are bold enough to start a new teacher program, I'd love to hear from you as I believe these teacher-initiated efforts are a key ingredient in creating schools where all students can learn.

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Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is the founder of TCinnovations and the Dean of the Graduate School of Education of Lewis & Clark College. He is also founder of the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at Teachers College at Columbia University.

February, 2007, Vol.37, No.5