“Feeling unsupported” is the primary reason new teachers give for leaving their positions, according to research by the National Department of Education.
“The evidence is there,” said Shawne Hilliard, a lifelong educator who recently retired as principal of Greenfield Elementary School. “People might have the perception that teachers leave the profession because of the pay, or because it’s really hard work, but it’s actually because they don’t feel supported in their roles.”
A new program in the ConVal school district aims to support new teachers by providing a two-year mentorship to all new hires in the district.
“The program will focus on instructional strategies and best practices and curriculum, but it’s also going to focus on systems — the ConVal systems, the policies and procedures. Teachers don’t want to always have to go to their administrator to ask for help. The administrators want to help, but they’re super busy. That’s why it’s so important to have a designated peer who can help, and for them to have that safe space where they can ask questions,” said Assistant Superintendent Amy Stevenson.
Hilliard, Stevenson, and Stevenson’s administrative assistant, Carly Giggi, have dedicated much of their summer to designing and launching the new mentorship program for the ConVal district.
According to Hilliard, most new teachers do make it through their first year and return for a second year, but some continue to struggle into their third year.
“What we really want to do is to support people in their first year and their second year, because by year three, that is when they really start to hit their stride and become rock stars, and you really want to keep them once they get to that point,” Hilliard said.
The new mentorship program, including Hilliard’s position as a consultant, is funded by federal Title II grant funds, which are dedicated to increasing student achievement and improving the effectiveness of educators and administrators, along with other aims.
“Both the state and the federal government are really pushing districts to use these funds for mentorship programs,” Stevenson said. “We want to be very clear that this program is not funded out of our budget. It’s fully funded by grant money.”
According to an NEA policy brief, district mentorship programs can cut teacher turnover by 50%.
“The data indicates that having an effective mentor can make a first-year teacher (perform) like a third-year teacher,” Stevenson said. “We want people to feel supported from day one, and we also want people to know where to go for support.”
Stevenson, who came to ConVal from a district near Hartford, Connecticut, said when she came to ConVal, she realized that while the district had a mentorship program, it was informal and not required for every new teacher.
“There were mentors doing wonderful work, but some people had mentors, and some did not, and the mentors were not compensated. ConVal’s program was not formalized. In Connecticut, every new teacher is required to have a mentor, so that’s what I was used to, and I knew it was highly effective. I said, ‘We need to have this program here,'” Stevenson said.
After creating a survey for new faculty and staff, Hilliard and Stevenson learned that there was an “overwhelming desire” for a formalized mentor program among the staff.
“It was very clear people wanted to be formalized; they wanted to be compensated,” Stevenson said.
Hilliard and Giggi created the mentorship program handbook, and the program held its first training on July 21.
“It went really well. We had talked to principals to see who were the strongest educational leaders in their buildings, and we talked to those people about the expectations of the program, and we got an overwhelmingly positive response,” Hilliard said. “The people who said no were fully in support of the program but just did not have time.”
The program includes 24 mentors who have been matched with more than 20 new and returning staff members, including four counselors and two nurses.
“It really says a lot about ConVal that we had 25 people willing to step up and be mentors. Each of them has been a teacher for over five years, and each one was highly recommended by their principal,” Stevenson said. “We have a couple of mentors we have not assigned yet, which says so much about our faculty and how they were willing to step up.”
Both Hilliard and Stevenson said it is important that the program includes stipends for mentors, which are also grant-funded.
“It’s not so much about the money, because the money is not going to change anyone’s life, but it is important because it shows our staff, ‘We value you, we value your time, we value what you are giving back,'” Stevenson said.
Hilliard says the program is “two-way learning.”
“It is really collaborative. It is all about, ‘How can we best support our teachers?’ and then, ‘How can we retain these teachers?'” Hilliard said. “It is about support and finding out what area the mentees need support in; it’s about finding out what areas they already show great proficiency in, and then it’s really focusing on raising them up. It’s also an opportunity for the mentors to grow and develop, because those collaborative conversations help both parties, and in the end, it’s all about getting better outcomes for our students.”
Teaching shortages are a problem nationwide, and New Hampshire is no exception.
“It’s harder to find teachers than it used to be; it’s really a challenge. There are a lot of barriers,” Stevenson said. “One example is, if you’re a brand-new teacher coming into our district, you have to learn the policies, the procedures, the building, behavior management, classroom management, your content, and all the different curriculums — especially in elementary school, because you’re teaching math, you’re teaching language arts, you’re teaching social studies; you’re teaching all of those things. It can be overwhelming.”
Stevenson said ConVal’s rural setting and the housing shortage make hiring even tougher for the district.
“It is more challenging for us because of our location. We have candidates who say, ‘I’d love to come to ConVal, but where am I going to live?’ It’s maybe a little easier for other districts, like Milford, where there are housing options and people can commute from Manchester or Nashua,” Stevenson said.
On Aug. 17, ConVal’s new hires will meet their mentors, who will guide them through their first few weeks and months in the district and beyond.
“We’re very excited to be able to provide a mentor for all our new hires coming in, and we’re confident this will be really effective for our district,” Stevenson said. “I think we’re in a really good place.”
