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  • Effective support is key to keeping new teachers in the profession

    Effective support is key to keeping new teachers in the profession


    Credit: Andrew Reed/EdSource

    Beginning teachers are most susceptible to leaving the profession. With upwards of 10,000 teacher vacancies and a decline in teacher credentials with California, it is urgent for the state — alongside much of the U.S. — to identify ways to mitigate attrition.

    But recent research from the California-based Center for Teacher Innovation suggests three effective strategies for supporting new teachers that should be incorporated into all teacher prep and support programs:

    Provide dedicated and well-matched coaches. Quality coaches should be at the forefront of beginning teacher support. Numerous studies have indicated that coaching can improve teacher outcomes, including feelings of preparedness and retention. While California requires induction and coaching for all new teachers, many states do not.

    When coaching is offered, there are several important considerations. First, there needs to be an intentional match between a coach and the new teacher. Default pairings often rely on aligning teachers and coaches by grade level or subject area. But depending on program size, that may not be possible, so programs could consider additional strategies to strengthen the coaching relationships, like matching similar personality traits or professional skills.

    Programs should also invest in activities that promote interaction, such as allowing coaches and teachers time to get to know one another, coaches sharing about their qualifications and experiences, and using time to discuss goals for the new teacher. These opportunities build trust between the teacher and coach; but caution, coaching time does not equate to counseling sessions, and priority should remain on professional growth. This can be done through classroom observations, feedback or a host of other effective coaching strategies. Finally, coaches should meet with their teachers frequently — ideally, weekly — to provide consistent check-ins on progress early in the year, when things are most challenging.

    Pay attention to curriculum and technology. There are two design structures of induction often overlooked but vital to the beginning teacher experience. Centrally, programs need to carefully craft what they want their new teachers to learn. New teacher curriculum may reiterate central components of pedagogy (e.g., lesson planning, classroom management), but often more specifically, it includes how to adjust what they learned in their teacher preparation program into their specific classroom context. Whether it is considering creative activities to engage students or being culturally responsive, new teachers need to think about how their training applies to their current environment.

    Relatedly, programs should consider how new teachers learn this professional content. While it can be conveyed through coaches, programs should think about how technology, in particular, can enhance or detract from teacher development. Learning management systems such as Canvas, Blackboard and Google can be utilized to distribute what new teachers should learn, but must be user-friendly to reliably provide information.

    Connect teacher learning. New teachers need to understand how the scope of their professional learning interactions and activities build upon each another. Teacher preparation programs, the district, professional development workshops, their campus and peers are among just some sources that can provide different, sometimes contrary, professional information. It can be challenging for newcomers to understand whom to listen to and how to balance a variety of information. Thus, induction programs should consider how their work complements other programs. Induction program personnel, teacher educators and district administrators need to work together to ensure that each training successively builds upon one another. Otherwise, persistent separation causes inevitable overlap in learning or, worse, contradictory learning.

    Along with the three strategies outlined above, induction programs must be accessible and affordable and enhance beginning teachers’ learning, rather than waste time that they don’t have to spare on activities that generally are not beneficial for them.

    Beginning teachers need consistent help and a professional village of people to grow and thrive in the profession. School districts, induction programs and others who assist new teachers must incorporate all three of these evidence-based strategies in their programs to ensure that new teachers can develop and ultimately stay in the profession.

    •••

    Andrew Kwok is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University and researches teacher preparation and beginning teacher supports.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • What effective school boards get right

    What effective school boards get right


    Kindergarten students in San Jose Unified School District. (EdSource File photo.)

    Credit: Liv Ames / EdSource

    Over the next several months, high-profile political races will command the public’s attention. But one set of races at the local level might be just as consequential: local school board elections.

    Too many of us are flying blind when making school board ballot decisions. Few of us can say we regularly attend our local school board meetings (and those that do rarely represent the larger community). There is little research about school boards and limited public understanding of what the role of a school board entails. Although it seems like there are more news stories about school boards than ever before, those accounts unfortunately focus on disruption and dissension. Tales about recent recall votes, a fight about which books to teach, or a board meeting turning violent reveal that many school boards have become battlegrounds for political issues beyond K-12 education.

    Now is an opportune time to build greater awareness of what school boards do and the positive impact of effective governance. Fortunately, there are strong examples from which we can learn. The California Collaborative on District Reform released a case study of two California school districts — Napa Valley and San José Unified School Districts — with strong reputations among peer superintendents as having highly functional superintendent–school board relations. The case study illuminates the kinds of practices governing teams in other districts can adopt and the general public can reward in their voting.

    Commit to shared priorities. The pressures facing school districts — including from the pandemic, educator shortages, a daunting fiscal outlook, and others — are more intense than at any time in recent memory. These pressures often lead districts to fragment their work or, in an attempt to address every concern, do none of them well. In San José Unified and Napa Valley Unified, the governing teams orient their work around a shared mission, vision and values that help create focus and coherence in what could otherwise be an overwhelming environment. Both districts illustrate that school boards and their communities can work toward a shared vision more effectively with clearly defined priorities.

    Establish and embrace norms for behavior. Just as important as what a governing team does is how it does its work. Napa Valley Unified and San José Unified both commit to shared norms for working together that keep them accountable for acting in the best interests of their communities. These norms include treating each other with respect, clearly defining what their role does and does not entail, and embracing a commitment to sharing information transparently. The norms help them maintain focus, navigate disagreement in healthy ways, and model behavior that districts seek to develop in their students.

    Invest in early and recurring onboarding experiences. November elections will shift the composition of the governing teams in many districts, which can potentially undermine the commitment to both priorities and norms. To avoid this, newly elected trustees in San José Unified and Napa Valley Unified undergo district-specific onboarding processes that include one-on-one meetings with the superintendent and members of the central office and a California School Boards Association (CSBA)-facilitated Good Beginnings workshop to form relationships with one another and co-develop norms for how they will work together. A strong onboarding experience fosters role clarity, establishes a foundation for the governing team to work collaboratively, and communicates to constituents what the school board role involves and how it can best serve the community.

    Lean on internal commitments to navigate challenges. The two districts’ strong sense of role clarity and their commitment to priorities and norms allow them to better navigate periods of struggle. Representatives from Napa Valley Unified described the painful decision to close schools in 2019 and 2021; San José Unified governing team members recalled an intense series of votes about police presence on school campuses. These difficult experiences tested the governing teams’ norms and values, but board members reported they would have been much harder without the practices, processes and commitments they had made prior.

    This fall, voters will determine who represents them in crafting local school policy.

    Now is the time for district leaders, trustees and voters to ask themselves some critical questions: Do members of my community understand what the work of the school board entails? Do they understand what a commitment to problem-solving enables the district to do? And will their voting reflect those kinds of behaviors and commitments?

    By building awareness, fostering understanding, and equipping voters to make informed decisions on behalf of their communities, we can help cultivate governing bodies that will prioritize problem-solving over dysfunction, compromise over grandstanding, and student needs above all.

    •••

    Joel Knudson is a principal researcher at American Institutes for Research and the chair of the California Collaborative on District Reform, a learning community of researchers, practitioners, policymakers and funders dedicated to improving instruction and student learning for California’s school systems.

    Marina Castro is a research analyst at American Institutes for Research, a nonpartisan and not-for-profit social science research organization, and a staff member of the California Collaborative on District Reform.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Seize the opportunity to select more effective math curriculum for California students

    Seize the opportunity to select more effective math curriculum for California students


    Credit: English Learners Success Forum

    I am a daughter of Mexican immigrants, born in the United States. Spanish is my first language. When I entered school, the language barrier was overwhelming. I see my story in the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) numbers. The report unveiled troubling trends in math performance, especially among English learners, underscoring the urgency of addressing this critical area.

    As a young Spanish speaker still learning English, I sat in the back of the classroom, feeling lost while my classmates actively participated. Contrary to what my parents taught my siblings and me, in school our linguistic background was considered a disadvantage, rather than an asset. I was a bright student with a father who was great with numbers without a calculator. Though my parents had only a second-grade education, they ensured my siblings and I could do math well. Yet, at school the perception was that because I didn’t know English, I couldn’t comprehend the content in other subjects either.

    Though my parents encouraged us to embrace learning, education and our cultural roots through our language, I struggled with my identity and found it challenging to express myself in English. The class instruction did not support my need to learn English while also helping me grasp rigorous content.

    As California confronts its educational challenges, a critical concern has emerged: the need for math instruction and a math curriculum that is accessible and meets the needs of all students, especially English learners.

    The National NAEP data indicates a concerning trend in math scores for both native English speakers and English learners showing a national decline in math scores for 4th and 8th graders, with 40% of 4th graders and only 28% of 8th graders achieving proficiency. Among Grade 8 math scores, English learners in the lowest percentile group experienced a six-point drop, widening the achievement gap with non-English learners, who only decreased by two points. In California, where nearly one out of every five students is learning English as a second language, it’s even more urgent that we address this crisis.

    Teacher voices and research consistently show that effective instructional materials are crucial. The California Math Framework adopted in 2023 specifically underscored that sense-making in mathematics is intricately linked to language development. It is critical for any math curriculum we choose to support all students in developing the skills needed to excel in mathematics.

    This is a critical moment for California as it is currently in the process of adopting math materials for 2026, which could significantly influence students’ achievement for years to come. The curriculum materials needed to change future outcomes are being selected now, and educators can demand high-quality instructional materials that are designed to support the needs of English learners.

    Education leaders play a pivotal role in this adoption process. We must advocate fiercely for the best interests of our students, especially English learners, to ensure they receive the education they deserve. Collaboration with educators, parents, and the community is crucial to ensure that we make informed decisions that cater to the diverse needs of our students.

    As California’s education leaders, we play a pivotal role, and there are specific actions that we can take to drive change.

    • Learn what high-quality materials for English learners look like. It’s vital to recognize what makes instructional materials effective. They should be culturally responsive, linguistically suitable and engaging, helping students access content while promoting language development.
    • Include representation of interest in committees. Ensuring voices are present in decision-making, like curriculum committees, fosters inclusivity. Engaging families and communities provides insights that create a more equitable educational environment.
    • Get involved now in curriculum adoption. Participating in the curriculum selection process enables educators to advocate for materials that support English learners. District leaders, school board members, educators and parents all have a role to play here.
    • Shift mindsets about materials together with professional learning. Changing educator perceptions and recognizing that traditional materials may not meet the diverse needs of English learners encourages innovative teaching strategies.

    If we fail to address the specific needs of the 1.1 million English learners in California’s K-12 schools, we risk perpetuating systemic inequalities, which broadens the achievement gap. The California Math Framework explicitly calls for the integration of language and content. California has an opportunity to make better curriculum choices that benefit all students and significantly improve the educational experience for English learners.

    By implementing these strategies, education leaders can foster change and a sustainable education process for English learners. Our children deserve nothing less.

    •••

    Alma Castro is the president of the Los Angeles County Schools Trustee Association, a member of the Lynwood Unified School Board, and director of California initiatives at the English Learners Success Forum, a collaboration of researchers, teachers, district leaders, and funders working to improve the quality and accessibility of instructional materials for English learners.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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