ESU 10’s New Teacher Academy is supporting 22 new teachers this school year through four days of professional learning and a new instructional coaching component. The Academy provides practical guidance and professional connections as teachers navigate the demands of their first year. Our goal is to help beginning teachers develop effective classroom practices and know where to turn when they need support.
Practical learning throughout the year
Sessions focus on classroom management, routines and procedures, student engagement, professionalism, assessment, curriculum and instruction, and lesson planning. Participants also explore common first-year difficulties and ways to find support. These topics give teachers practical tools to establish productive learning environments, plan purposeful lessons, and respond to student needs.
Meeting throughout the school year allows participants to apply strategies between sessions and bring questions from their classroom experiences to future meetings. Connecting with other new teachers also provides a network for sharing ideas and working through challenges that can otherwise feel isolating.
New instructional coaching component
This year, we added instructional coaching to provide individualized support beyond the Academy’s four learning days. Teaching and Learning Coordinators meet with new teachers for a planning conversation using cognitive coaching techniques, observe a lesson, and facilitate a reflective conversation afterward.
The planning conversation gives teachers an opportunity to think through the lesson’s goals and instructional decisions. The observation and reflective conversation create space to examine what occurred during the lesson, consider students’ responses, and identify next steps. This cycle connects professional learning to the teacher’s own students, curriculum, and classroom experience while encouraging thoughtful reflection on practice.
Value to member districts
This added coaching is especially valuable for new teachers in small districts who may not have access to an instructional coach. Through ESU 10, participating teachers can access individualized support as they plan, teach, and reflect. Together, the Academy and coaching component represent an investment in helping new teachers build confidence and strengthen instruction as they establish themselves in the profession.