New-Teacher Support

Improving Retention and Quality Simultaneously

By Ellen Moir

Imagine putting new hires alone in an office, isolated from co-workers, giving them a difficult job to do, and then expecting that they perform at the same level as the experienced colleague next door. Hardly a formula for success, but that’s exactly what we do with many new teachers.

Our education system’s shocking indifference to the fate of its newest members is an embarrassment.

As schools open each fall, thousands of beginning teachers receive little more than a student roster and a classroom key. Usually fresh out of college and in their first job, these novices are often subjected to a hazing ritual that involves placing them in the most difficult jobs in the hardest-to-staff schools. They work long hours, planning lessons and learning complex curriculum requirements in isolation. They struggle to manage 30 students, each with...