If you are a school administrator or serve in school leadership, you serve an important role in your school community. Your staff members look to you for guidance, support, and leadership in the face of the challenges they face every day. Take a moment to listen to our new teacher panelists talk about concrete ways you can support them. Our panelists have also provided suggestions of tangible ways you can help support your staff.
Connor shares about the importance of allowing teachers to do what they do best without extra obstacles.
Taylor shares about one of the biggest challenges she's faced as a new teacher, and a way that she feels administration could mitigate the situation and improve overall job satisfaction.
Lauren shares about the counterintuitive way that administrators could work to support both their teaching staff and their students.
For new teachers...
Ensure that they have access to all curriculum materials and training for all tech tools used by your school.
Be intentional about checking in on them, even if they don't appear to need help.
Provide structural supports like mentorship programs or new staff meetings throughout the year.
Turn misunderstandings into teachable moments instead of chastising teachers for their mistakes.
Provide constructive feedback regarding how they can improve their instructional methods.
Seek out opportunities to provide your staff members with more time within their contract day for planning and collaboration.
If possible, consider the addition of a permanent substitute to your staff to minimize the need for teachers to cover classes for their absent colleagues.
Utilize parent volunteers for supervision duties, making copies, or helping with other classroom tasks.
Find ways to build staff morale...
Consider working with the parents' association within your school to provide snacks in the workroom, seasonal treats, or luncheons for your staff members.
Foster community and camaraderie among your staff by seeking out opportunities for them to connect in fun ways, whether it be staff mixers, happy hours, or holiday celebrations.
Publicly acknowledge the hard work put in by each staff member, perhaps through a weekly shout-out program.
Consider the practicality of a policy before implementing it within all classrooms.
Test out policies by allowing for teacher feedback or classroom pilot programs.
Consider if policies make sense for all age groups affected by it.
Listen to the concerns of your staff members, and make a good-faith effort to act on their concerns as needed.
Create a teacher liaison committee that allows teachers to have a platform to voice concerns and problem-solve situations with school leadership.
Clearly communicate schedule changes to staff members with as much advance notice as possible to allow teachers to adjust instruction accordingly.
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