![\"\"](\"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/KASC-amelia_dana-pic.jpg\")
Kentucky\u2019s public schools welcome around 2,500 brand new teachers each year. What kind of support do these new teachers need? I recently spoke with Amelia Brown and Dana Lee Thomas to get their expert thoughts.<\/p>\n[vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”25px” padding_size=”m-padding”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Kentucky\u2019s public schools welcome around 2,500 brand new teachers each year. What kind of support do these new teachers need? I recently spoke with Amelia Brown and Dana Lee Thomas to get their expert thoughts.<\/p>\n
Amelia is Professional Learning Coach at the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services (NKCES), and Dana is an ELA instructional coach for grades 3-5 in Marion County. As Kentucky Hope Street Group Teaching Fellows, Amelia and Dana created the KY SENT<\/a> (Kentucky Supporting and Elevating New Teachers) website and @KY_SENT<\/a> twitter feed.<\/p>\n First, however, some policy background: <\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”100px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″ css=”.vc_custom_1558665176081{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”text1″ animation=”slideInLeft”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Dana<\/strong>: I just completed my 22nd<\/sup> year of teaching, and have been an instructional coach for the last 5 years. During my beginning years as a teacher, I was very fortunate to have the support of many great colleagues. As an instructional coach, I share resources and strategies to help both teachers and students. I\u2019m very passionate about instruction and just want to help grow other teachers. When we are our best, students benefit.\u00a0 Amelia<\/strong>: It was never a question for me about what I was going to do. As early as 3rd<\/sup> grade, I remember wanting to be a teacher. I started my elementary education program two weeks after high school graduation. During my internship year, I had a great mentor teacher. Her willingness to devote so much time and energy on my behalf \u2013 it was not lost on me. In the years that followed, I would take on practicum students and student teachers. I had a true passion for it. Eventually, my call for more of a leadership role came from that passion to support teachers and to elevate them.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”125px” padding_size=”m-padding”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”text1″ animation=”slideInLeft”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Dana:<\/strong> Collaboration, communication, and teacher efficacy are essential in the beginning years of teaching. Teachers need a professional learning network of other teachers for support and resources.\u00a0 Some of a teacher\u2019s best professional learning, is the teacher next door, or down the hallway.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”175px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”text1″ animation=”slideInLeft”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Amelia:<\/strong> The idea came about when the state internship program lost funding. That had provided a built-in mentor for new teachers. Teacher attrition was also starting to show real consequences \u2013 both in funding and student achievement.\u00a0 In the absence of this program, our goal with \u00a0KY SENT was to create a space with curated resources on all kinds of different topics that we feel new teachers will be seeking out. It\u2019s also professional learning network for new teachers. We spark discussions with \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0twitter chats and campaigns to elevate new teachers. We also offer a Q&A through the website for any questions that new teachers are afraid to ask or aren\u2019t getting the answer to.\u00a0 However, the concerns of new teachers \u00a0are often school-specific. We do realize that quality mentorship comes from the teacher down the hall. We have many examples of districts that are rising to that challenge even in the absence of a formal program.<\/p>\n Dana<\/strong>: Due to the lack of funding for KTIP, we knew that teachers needed some kind of support in the beginning of their careers. In addition to support, we also want to elevate teachers. Every teacher should know that they make a difference in a child\u2019s life each day. When teachers feel good about the teaching profession, students reap the rewards.<\/p>\n One way that KY SENT elevates new teachers is with our KY SENT Sparkler initiative. Teachers can nominate a new teacher to showcase and celebrate their work during the first few years of teachers. The \u201csparklers\u201d are featured on our website and highlighted on our Twitter feed.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”200px” padding_size=”m-padding”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”text1″ animation=”slideInLeft”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Dana:<\/strong> For me, it is knowing that new teachers feel that support, elevation, and satisfaction with the profession. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”175px” overlap_index=”50″ equal_height=”true” vertical_align=”middle” padding_size=”m-padding” el_class=”row2″][vc_column overlap=”left” overlap_distance=”200″ overlap_index=”300″][vc_column_text el_class=”text1″ animation=”slideInLeft”]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]Dana:<\/strong> Teaching is one of the most rewarding careers that there is. We\u2019re producing our future leaders. Any impact we can have on a child\u2019s life makes a difference. \u00a0\u00a0We make a difference every single day that we are with kids.<\/p>\n Amelia:<\/strong> I do think that life experience enhances teacher quality. Someone coming into teaching with experience outside of education could act as an invaluable connection to the current workforce. That could provide a unique perspective on 21st<\/sup> century innovation and bring some rockstar potential.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlap=”top” overlap_distance=”200px” padding_size=”m-padding” css=”.vc_custom_1566830469903{padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text el_class=”strategy4text2″ animation=”slideInRight”]I\u2019m grateful to Dana and Amelia for their statewide leadership to support and elevate Kentucky\u2019s newest teachers, and for sharing their expertise and experience as we ask \u2013 how can we ensure that all teachers have what they need to learn and grow \u2013 making an ever-increasing positive impact on students, families, and communities \u2013 at every stage of their careers?[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kentucky\u2019s public schools welcome around 2,500 brand new teachers each year. What kind of support do these new teachers need? I recently spoke with Amelia Brown and Dana Lee Thomas to get their expert thoughts.<\/p>\n Amelia is Professional Learning Coach at the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services (NKCES), and Dana is an ELA instructional coach for grades 3-5 in Marion County.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"passster_activate_protection":false,"passster_protect_child_pages":"","passster_protection_type":"password","passster_password":"","passster_activate_overwrite_defaults":"","passster_headline":"","passster_instruction":"","passster_placeholder":"","passster_button":"","passster_id":"","passster_activate_misc_settings":"","passster_redirect_url":"","passster_hide":"no","passster_area_shortcode":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ed"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5872,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4869\/revisions\/5872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Why and how did you get your start in teaching, and then supporting other teachers?<\/h3>\n
What has most helped you improve your teaching practice over time, and what do Kentucky\u2019s new teachers most need to be successful with students, families, and communities?<\/h3>\n
Why did you create KY SENT, and what does it provide for new teachers?<\/h3>\n
What is your definition of success for KY SENT? How will you know if you\u2019ve achieved it?<\/h3>\n
Why should young Kentuckians, or not-so young Kentuckians interested in a career change, consider teaching?<\/h3>\n