Facing First-Year Challenges

Little support and even less classroom experience combined to make Deirdra Grode's first year teaching chaotic and almost her last. It didn't have to be that way. Grode says training on how to organize the classroom and learning, better understanding of differentiating instruction, and a coach to guide her practice would have made her first year much smoother.

In this month's "In the Classroom with Deirdra Grode" column, Grode shares her first-year frustrations and why schools need to meaningfully consider some basic new teacher supports, like DI, classroom management, and mentoring, if they want to build stability and continuity among staff—and ultimately—student learning.

What essential support did you have, or wish you had, in your first year?

Deirdra Grode was the 2008 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award winner. In August, she assumed the position of codirector/principal K-8 at the Hoboken Charter School in Hoboken, N.J. She previously taught 7th and 8th grade social studies and language arts teacher at the school. Her monthly column appears in the Education Update newsletter.