From the St. Louis American, October 3-9, 2013
“Supporting New Teachers at SLPS”
Kelvin R. Adams, superintendent of St. Louis Public
Schools, wrote this article as a guest columnist. The article discussed how the school district
is providing support to their new teachers.
Adams admits some qualified teachers may have “slipped through the
cracks.” He reported they have been
providing mentoring and professional development since 2009 to the first year
teachers. Adams acknowledged losing
teachers and blamed it on not providing enough support on an everyday basis.
This year they began the Teachers Matter project for
the school district’s new teachers. This
project included a team of qualified individuals who worked together and
devised a new strategy to welcome the new staff. Each new teacher received a t-shirt and a $50
gift card for their new classroom.
Adams is holding
“New Teacher Voice” meetings with new teachers each quarter to develop new
ideas and also discuss their concerns and challenges. Adams stated, “We have opened up the lines of
communication, sending helpful, practical tips to new teachers and encouraging
feedback.” Surveys will be handed out
for new teachers to fill out regularly to determine job satisfaction. Each district principle has an experienced
teacher, also referred to as induction coordinator, at their school to help new
staff with their everyday questions and challenges.
My questions to
you: Do you think Kelvin R. Adams wrote
this article because of the story from the St. Louis Post Dispatch? Jeri wrote about in Week 5 and it stated
around 50 teachers had quit from the St. Louis Public Schools. Do you think these tools provided are enough
resources for new teachers? The article
focused on new teachers. How do you feel
about the resources or lack of for teachers who aren’t new?
Yes, definitely a reaction to the article. I noticed how he said, "in the past.... teachers sometimes slipped through the cracks." He's definitely putting a spin on it. Fifty teachers this year doesn't seem like "in the past."
ReplyDeleteHe also made a reference to "all new teachers who were in place the first day of school..." The teacher interviewed in my article had come in late when they had to add a new kindergarten class. I might have had more respect for him if he'd tackled it directly as these teachers did in a letter to the editor September 18.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-to-the-editor/new-teachers-are-supported-and-welcomed-at-ashland-elementary/article_45c2a628-6b10-50a6-946d-cee3b61cc155.html
I'm sure he has more concerns about defamation of character and a lawsuit than those teachers did, though, and I do understand that.
In response to your last question - teachers are 'new' for longer than one year, so I hope they can take advantage of supports for more than their first year. It didn't really sound like it though.
I thought about Jeri's article as soon as I saw SLPS. I think that, of course, this is a clean-up article, an attempt to put a positive spin on the goings on in SLPS. I think the t-shirt and gift card are cute, but the greater concern is morale and support. The "New Teacher Voice" sounds like a great way to encourage new teachers to communicate their concerns early on, and having a seasoned staff member as a mentor is excellent, as long as he/she is a positive example. There should, however, be a support system in place for senior teachers as well. They may need it as much- if not more- than new students.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw this article, I thought about the article Jeri had found. I immediately thought Adams' was trying to as Adrienne said, "put a positive spin" on the previous article. I think the gift card is a great idea, but it's not enough. More support is needed! Fifty teachers is a large number to "slip through the cracks."
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone else; this does seem to be a direct response. However, would it have been better for him to just flat-out admit that SLPS teachers are not well supported? My cousin is a teacher in that district and, wonderful, compassionate, and educated though she is, she is teetering towards being burnt out. I have heard many, many stories from her about some of the issues she has had to deal with. I understand that the school wants to save face. I'd be more interested in hearing directly from some of the teachers who are still in the district how this is affecting them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it seems to be a direct response. I think it's good that they are addressing the issue and working to overcome it, but their focus is now entirely on fixing the issue that was addressed in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, that there seems to be little support/initiatives for helping the teachers that are not new.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. Im all for making new teachers feel welcome during their first weeks, but I think giving them a gift card sounds a bit like bribery.( I know $50 isn't much- but it still seems "sketchy", as a teacher I would wonder 'are they trying so hard?') But I do think what they are doing in terms of surveys and making sure the teachers have a chance to speak their opinions are a great step. It is important to get feedback from teacher as to what is working and what is not. Having a chance to speak up will help make the teachers feel heard and part of a whole.
ReplyDelete