As I reported a few months ago, I'm delighted that my article with WKU's Dr. Rebecca Stobaugh is appearing in the March 2014 issue of Principal Leadership magazine, official publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. You can read the article, "Preparing for Success," here, but if you aren't a member of NASSP you'll need to log in as a guest.
The article, which is part of the issue's theme on "Taking Care of Teachers," describes teacher induction practices in the Ohio County and Simpson County schools (where Beckie and I each used to work, respectively). We emphasize the importance of induction structures that don't just offer supports for the traditional struggles of teachers new to the profession (classroom management, above all, but also effective instructional strategies and assessment techniques), but also orient teachers to the specific demands of work in a particular school or district. The mission of each school is (or should be) unique, and therefore learning to be an effective teacher in one school may look different in another.
"Preparing for Success" also emphasizes the linkages between building-level and district-level induction practices, and the importance of supporting teachers beyond their first year. The second year of teaching is, in some ways, far scarier for many teachers in that the structures of the internship are over, but the learning curve is still enormous.
Visionary school leaders know where their school is going (and that direction is not dictated by bureacracts, testing, or the Common Core), they hire teachers who are committed to that vision, and then they support them in their collaborative journey thorughout their careers. We hope "Preparing for Success" enables more school leaders to embody this ideal.
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