What if there was no such thing as a first year teacher?

Would you want your own child to be in a first year teacher’s classroom? Putting aside the variation among any group of teachers, almost anyone answering honestly would say no. You would rather have your son or daughter learning from someone who has taught fractions, established classroom routines, and handled difficult students before. There are of course exceptions, but the vast majority of first year teachers are not very good and I was not an exception 9 years ago. Looking back at my first year teaching 33 fifth graders at Cureton Elementary on the eastside of San Jose, CA I made so many mistakes that it’s hard to pick just a few out. I had no idea what I should be doing with my many students with limited English skills. I had just a vague understanding of what specific skills my students reading on a 3^rd grade reading level needed if they were going to end the year on grade level. And I struggled with how to hold students accountable for their actions, while also adjusting my behavior plans for my most challenging students. Yet I was considered a “good” first year teacher because my kids learned something and I was still there at the end of the year.

But I wouldn’t have wanted my own child to be in my classroom 9 years ago and I don’t want any of my students at KPEA to get the mediocre at best education that my 33 students did at Cureton. But what to do? Every teacher has to be a first year teacher at some point, it’s sort of a logical fact. But what if that’s not exactly true? What if there was a way that you didn’t have to be a “first year teacher”?

How to bridge the (big) gap between what you learn in college/graduate school and what you need to succeed in the actual job is not an issue solely limited to education. As a recent NYT article explains, most lawyers learn absolutely zero about the actual practice of law in law school, something which law schools are apparently proud of. And until recently, most law firms didn’t have a formal program for how to help new lawyers learn the basics of doing their job. That is until clients basically pulled the “I don’t want my kid in that new teacher’s class” move and insisted that they were not going to be pay for work from first or second year associates. Because of the lack of practical knowledge someone gets in law school, it is very rare for a lawyer to go out and practice independently straight from law school. While doctors do get a fair amount of hands on experience in medical school, the stakes are so high that they are not allowed to go directly into private practice and must spend years as an intern and resident learning directly from more experienced doctors before they are fully credentialed.

And then there is teaching. As a part of every traditional teacher preparation program, students must student teach for a semester or two, including “taking over” a classroom for a few weeks. This is pretty direct hands-on practice, more in line with medical school then law school, but student teaching is far different from actually being a classroom teacher. For one thing, student teachers are coming into a classroom that is already up and running. Classroom routines have been established, behavior systems are up and running, and students know what to expect instructionally. Student teachers are the understudies who step into the Tony-winning role on Broadway when Nathan Lane needs a day off. It’s not easy, but keeping the show running smoothly doesn’t mean you’re ready to co-star with Matthew Broderick. Yet, traditionally first year teachers do the exact same job as a teacher who has been at it for 30 years, with not much more support.

So is there another way? At KPEA, like many other KIPP elementary schools we’ve tried to solve this problem with a role we call a co-teacher. Co-Teachers are in their first year of teaching, but their year looks and feels very different than a traditional first year teacher. By placing them in a classroom with a veteran teacher and giving them targeted support, we are creating a “bridge” between their student teaching experience and what they need to know to be a lead teacher on their own, just like a medical residency gives doctors the practical experience and training to perform a knee replacement or diagnose shingles on their own. Our goal is that this improves the education experience for our students and makes our co-teachers better at their craft, both in their first year and beyond.

We focus on a few key components to make this happen. First, we hire well and make sure that we’re getting brand new teachers with the skills to be great and the drive and humility to make the most of this year. We place co-teachers with great teachers who they share a classroom with all year, with co-teachers gradually taking on more classroom teaching and planning responsibilities as the year goes on. At the start of the year, the lead teacher is doing most of the “heavy lifting” but by the spring, it is a 50/50 split. They get all the regular whole staff professional development, plus target development designed just for first year teachers. An example of this would be a training in September on how to give instructions so students will actually listen – how to stand, what tone of voice to use, and what to do if students don’t follow your instructions right away. Finally, co-teachers are observed and get in-person feedback every single week, from me, their grade level chair, or our co-teacher coach who also runs all their PD.

Instead of a first year teaching where students aren’t learning much and where the new teacher is feeling stressed, unsuccessful, and all alone, our co-teachers are working with their lead teacher to drive strong academic gains and have a team of people helping them through the challenges of being a new teacher. And then when they step into a lead teaching role in their second year, they are actually ready to do a great job. Nothing is cooler than watching our co-teachers last year do such an amazing job this year as lead teachers and handle every part of the job just as smoothly as our more veteran lead teachers. They’re doing such a great job that I would love to have my son in their classrooms :)