CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Your new construction teacher has more than likely just started a new career, that of professional educator. Their role as teacher will require a great deal of work for them and a lot of assistance and support from the district. Over the next 3-5 years they will be writing and designing their own curriculum. He/she will probably be taking university education classes each semester plus they need to be keeping up with industry changes.
With all of this occurring we offer several suggestions:
- Provide the new teacher with a "master teacher“ mentor.
- Annual development of a "Professional Development Plan." This plan should include the activities that the district teacher and mentor agree the new construction teacher should be doing over the next year. A budget should also be included. The Professional Development Plan or Plan for Improvement should create a pathway toward excellence that will assist your new teacher in becoming a "master teacher" themselves.
It has been well documented that when the teacher and their program are encouraged to grow, students will prosper. We owe our new teacher this opportunity.