Mentoring New Friends - Anticipation in August
Anticipation. What does it look like for a young teacher? Student teaching is winding down and interviews are starting up. The feeling is indescribable when you begin to think about what a professional teaching life looks like, sounds like, and feels like (to quote our Y chart in our instruction toolbox).
A new teacher is putting a portfolio together to summarize the qualifications for a new position to bring along to interviews. This teacher has a starry-eyed vision of changing the hearts and minds of students. This teacher has a professional style that is noticed upon arrival. The teacher may have some contained excitement, so as not to overwhelm the interviewing panel, but the candidate is prepared and polished and ready to begin! Answers in the interview are direct and have some examples to draw from when explaining what makes “you” a better candidate than any other person. It doesn’t take long for this candidate to get a phone call offering the position. There’s excitement; there’s joy; and then there’s anxiety. What to do next?!
It’s important in the weeks following the job offer to check in with the school principal or supervisor who hired to see when the building and the curriculum would be available before that first “official” day in August. Like many new teachers, getting a jump start on some logistical and practical items will not only ease some anxiety in the actual few weeks of school, but it allows the self-care of creating and absorbing new materials and the new environment. I know that these are unpaid days, but I consider these days mine. I take them as preparation and to build the excitement for the year. I’ve done this every year that I’ve taught. August is a time to “check-in” with the classroom and curriculum to make sure both are ready to go when school officially starts. When the actual start days happen, there is so much paperwork and meetings planned that there isn’t enough time, according to the district’s inservice plan. So I say, do it ahead of schedule, otherwise, you may be putting in many, many extra hours after school on those days and the weekends leading into the students’ first days.
This anticipation phase is building upon the excitement and energy that a new teacher has. It allows some creativity and freedom in the classroom and content of the curriculum. What happens within that first induction of new teacher week? And what is necessary to know going in?
New Teacher Induction
First things first: what to wear. Seems simple, but it’s a question that is often asked. Dress casual is always a good rule of thumb. There’s no need for professional attire, but wearing something that you can move around in comfortably, is key. Footwear is also important to note. Maybe not the flip-flops!
New Teacher Induction week does not have to be a frightening experience. The first piece of advice that I’d follow is to pay attention to the other new hires. Is there someone you can make a connection with? Someone who might be from a town you’re familiar with or someone who might know someone that you know. Making connections is the name of the game in all realms of education, but having a new teacher friend will not only help this week, but also during the meetings that will be required throughout the year for new staff. So that is pretty important.
Mentors are introduced within that first day of the induction week. The assigned mentor will be your guide throughout the week and obviously, throughout the year. This first day, however, will be used to explain how the paperwork for the district should be filled out, including some state-mandated training. These first few days are long because there is a LOT of information. Don’t be discouraged. And please don’t judge the district because of it – it’s a lot of necessary information. It’s just A LOT when you have so many other things that you would rather be doing during that time.
The department or grade level mentor will be helpful for so many things that first week. The curriculum is key, but logistical things are important as well – where are the staff mailboxes, what about the copy machine, how does lunch work, where do I find supplies for myself and my classroom? All of these questions are valid, so don’t feel silly asking them.
Whole Staff Inservice
Here we go!!! Walking into the first day of inservice with the whole staff, is like walking into a beehive – all you hear is the buzz. No worries, you won’t be stung. Look for your mentor or the new teacher friend you made in your first week. Or if you are a bit nervous, ask them in the induction week for their phone number so if there’s a last minute question or concern, you have a “buddy” to lean on. It is with that number, I would text to find out when that mentor or teacher is arriving and maybe walk in together. Depending on the district, there could be a thousand people. In the districts that I’ve taught, there were never more than a few hundred. It’s still good to have a person to look for and hang out with as things get started.
The beginning of the school year is full of meetings. Meetings for training - professional development, possibly state trainings, introductions to new programs or new processes for district wide services, including business and employment changes. It’s funny – when we preach about attention spans for kids, we realize in our adult world, that as adults our attention span wanes after 10 minutes - 20 minutes max! We understand that we can’t just “sit” and “git.” Yet that happens in these inservice days.
The thing that we look forward to the most - other than working in our rooms??? LUNCH!! Make sure that you make plans to go somewhere for lunch with either your mentor or your new teaching friend. It’s a great time to ask questions, but it’s an even better time to get to know one another personally. It might be the perfect time to ask some of the questions that you need to know when you’re looking for your four other mentors: who has good classroom management? How about aesthetics in their classroom? And maybe your new teaching friend might be your self-care mentor. It’s just important to know that you have someone who you trust to talk through some of the tougher parts of this job. I know, I know…you’ve got it all figured out, but just in case you don’t – have a person that you can talk with, go out with, exercise with, or just hang with.
Staff Meetings
Staff meetings at the beginning of the school year sets the tone for later meetings. It’s like entering your first education class in college – there’s a little excitement, a little anxiety - but no worries – there are also icebreakers to relieve some of that angst! Or cause it! LOL! People either LOVE them or HATE them. I love them. I mean, I kind of pretend that I don’t like them, but when it comes down to it, I love seeing everyone stepping outside of their “box” to do what we’re supposed to do. And honestly, as a new teacher, you will have a way of remembering the names of some of the staff members in your building. Oh yah - Mr. Edwards was the guy who loves to sing Karaoke, or was that a lie?
Staff meetings are important because the principal can share a vision for the year - a goal, if you will. Often an Educator Effectiveness SLOs might reflect a larger goal given by the building administrator. In order to have the building goal achievable, the student outcomes should align in some way. Or at the very least, a teacher’s PPG (personal professional goal) could align as well.
Staff meetings should also be proactive in addressing problems – either based on the previous year’s behaviors or anticipating possible behaviors. It’s always good to re-read the student agreements and address the consequences of them. This allows the whole ruling in the same way and not individuals interpreting things differently. It’s a good thing to talk about at the beginning of the school year.
Open House
Within the first week or so of school starting many schools have an Open House where families can come to school and check out classrooms, teachers, lockers, and the school office to pay fees or fill in last minute forms. As a new teacher in a new classroom there will be a curiosity of who you are and what kind of vibe you are providing in your school. This is a time when first impressions really do matter. Here are a few things to keep in mind when getting things ready for this public event:
Be Professional - Dress and speak professionally
Parent Communication
Have a form or a way to have families indicate how they would like to receive communications from you. Often this is done at the district level, but it’s efficient to have your own.
What do I need to know about your child? This is an important question to ask if there’s time to talk. Otherwise, it could be included in the form (given above).
Your contact info - Your SCHOOL email and phone number (I typically write this on the White board in the front of the room - parents come up to take a picture of it to keep it handy)
BIG learning outcomes – what essential standards will be taught throughout the year (I also have this on the Whiteboard)
Textbooks / Materials - these I have sitting out on tables if anyone wants to peruse them.
Syllabi (I put copies of the syllabi for each class I teach on tables for families to take - this works well for 6-12 grades).
CANDY - it never hurts to have a little candy dish – you’re not only showing kindness but that this room is a welcoming environment.
Finishing up these first couple of weeks seems like it goes so fast, but after preparing for the first public event (open house), students will be coming soon. Are you ready? What do you need to do so that you are ready? I sometimes get so caught up in the aesthetics of the open house and getting things set up and organized, that I neglect what it is that I have planned for students on that very first day! I hate it when that happens! LOL! Here’s to avoid that:
Make sure that all building assemblies or activities are planned first.
Set up a meeting with either your department or your grade level.
Talk through what the first week of school will look like - what activities, what routines, what skills will be addressed.
What happens beyond those first couple of days, is dependent on the curriculum mapping for that grade level and who is involved. As the school year gets started, the first weeks, leading into the first months of school are pretty chaotic. It’s a crazy kind of chaos, but collaboration with other team members, including your mentor will help you through it. Survival seems like such a strong way to describe this next phase, but it is pretty accurate. A new teacher will survive. It’s chaotic for all teachers during the start of a new school year, so it isn’t just a new teacher thing – it’s an every teacher thing.
