Search online for what new teachers need, and you will likely generate a list of classroom supplies such as sticky notes, colorful pens, and dry erase markers. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find strategies for new teachers to manage their classrooms, collect student information, and integrate technology into their lessons. While these supplies and strategies are certainly helpful as new teachers plan and deliver their curriculum, they fall short of providing the relational support that early-career educators require to thrive.
Research backs the claim that relational support is vital to professional experience. By nature, humans crave support through interaction, which leads to a sense of belonging in their community. For teachers, frequent interactions with students offer ample opportunities for connection, but they need that same relational support from colleagues. A positive initial introduction to the social culture and community of the classroom, school, district, and profession can influence the trajectory and longevity of those entering teaching.
Early relationships can cultivate a feeling of belonging and a team approach to learning to teach effectively.
Early relationships can cultivate a feeling of belonging and a team approach to learning to teach effectively. These relationships serve as a catalyst for classroom and career success as new teachers build capacity in their content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and digital integration. We suggest four areas where instructional leaders can foster a culture of relationship-building that supports teachers in the first five years of their careers and helps them grow their expertise and educational network: the classroom level, the team level, the school/district level, and the professional level.
The Classroom Level
Administration that allows time and space for new teachers to create a classroom community is critical. Shifting from the mindset of a student to that of a teacher is a transformative time in the career of new educators. However, facing a classroom of students for the first time can be nerve-wracking. Instructional leaders can support early-career educators during this time in simple ways:
- Set expectations that the first weeks in the classroom are for relationship building with students and that curricular expectations will come later.
- Encourage teachers to share about themselves and their personalities. Students are curious about their teachers. Leaders can even model this in faculty meetings as new teachers are learning to balance personal sharing within professional limits.
- Offer to sit with new educators as they make their first phone calls to parents. Encourage them to build their confidence by calling with compliments before any challenges arise.
The Team Level
Leaders should foster relationship-building at the team level to support new teacher integration into the school culture. The team, whether they share a grade-level cohort or a content area, will be the first line of support for new educators as they learn the curriculum, get to know their students, try new instructional techniques, and experience both successes and failures in their classrooms. The first week of in-service days will set the tone for the year. Instructional leaders can facilitate a positive introduction for early-career educators by:
- Intentionally meeting and greeting new teachers on their first day in the building with a tour and a round of introductions to key staff members.
- Providing hospitality and invitations for new educators to join their mentors or teams for lunch during an in-service day.
- Providing a small stipend or gift cards for assigned building mentors or teams to treat their first-year teachers to coffee or a snack to build personal connection.
- Giving early educators explicit permission to leave the building when they have finished their work for the day.
The School/District Level
Once they have settled into their role within grade-level or content teams, early-career educators benefit from connecting with peers in similar roles across the school or district. This is yet another avenue to share ideas, celebrate successes, reflect on mistakes while sharing solutions for improvement, and build content expertise. Building relationships with fellow early-career educators lets teachers speak more freely and comfortably with peers while gaining perspectives from other classrooms and schools. Instructional leaders should encourage early-career educators to build these connections with colleagues in similar roles by:
- Sponsoring opportunities for professional development or professional learning communities locally and encouraging new teacher participation.
- Encouraging district professional learning and networking opportunities.
- Finding ways to allow early educators to attend local conferences. While budgetary constraints may limit funding admission, instructional leaders can encourage participation by offering administrative leave to attend.
- Encouraging peer observations through instructional rounds or friendly feedback.
- Spotlighting new educators’ ideas, successes, or small wins during faculty meetings. This could be done through sharing opportunities or pictures that highlight a great practice.
- Designing opportunities for new teachers to present their work in small groups or to the full faculty, thereby expanding their presentational skills to adult learners.
The Professional Level
School and district administrators should support early-career educators in their professional development as they progress through their first five years of teaching. This can be accomplished through a series of career progression opportunities that enable them to become leaders within their schools and the broader profession. Instructional leaders can facilitate this relational growth by:
- Inviting early-career teachers to serve on committees for accreditation, technology, or new curriculum implementation.
- Advertising opportunities for early-career educators to serve as mentor teachers for their newest colleagues.
- Articulating pipelines to teacher leadership positions, such as serving as a school improvement member or instructional coach.
- Encouraging attendance and networking at national conferences. As with local conferences, budgets may prohibit sponsoring attendance, but administrative leave and opportunities to showcase learning are tangible supports.
Show New Teachers They're Valued
Adjusting to the demands of teaching during the early years of a career can be daunting. But if leaders can provide intentional relational support—from the classroom level to the professional level—over the first five years of an educator’s career, they can influence a new teacher’s professional growth and even solidify their commitment to the education profession.
Ensure new teachers know that they matter, both personally and professionally, to the classroom, to the team, to the school, to the district, and to the profession of education.
An oft-repeated saying is that teachers teach students first, then content. This mindset extends to instructional leaders: Lead teachers first, then instruction. Ensure new teachers know that they matter, both personally and professionally, to the classroom, to the team, to the school, to the district, and to the profession of education.
