HEARNE, Texas — Whether it’s in person or online teachers often struggle through their second year of employment, studies from the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching show instructional improvement, training tools, and goals aligned with the school district can lead to a successful year for a teacher.
“Providing mentoring support is critical there’s often a teacher shortage in many states and many locations teachers are hard to come by because of that specific skill set that’s so important do it’s really critical for us to be able to provide the effective supports,” SaidLaura Encalade, Co-President, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
Studies show students benefit from strong teachers, which creates a better learning atmosphere.
For Hearne ISD a rural school select veteran and new teachers have been participating since 2020.
“If you’ve never step foot in the classroom even though the practice during the traditional programs it could be a really daunting task to step into the classroom for the very first time,” said Johnson.
Encalade said they saw 100 percent of their mentor teachers return and they saw all but one of their new teachers return as well.
“So, I think that goes to show the powerful impact that mentoring can have on retention,” Encalade continued.
Dr. Johnson says this is something that he will keep doing throughout the years he hopes to make it a part of the system for onboarding teachers into the district in a relaxed environment.
“It’s not easy for someone to watch you work or for you to tell someone about your work until you have a strong relationship with them and that’s what this program helps us to create,” said Johnson.
With a focus on mentorship and what makes an effective mentor official with the NIET program says this program is designed to work with any school across Texas.