As faculty prepare teacher candidates for the challenges of teaching, we can’t possibly prepare them for everything. We send new teachers out with a “highly qualified” label but to maintain this, they must be entrenched in ongoing professional development or job-embedded learning.

According to the Nebraska Department of Education, the Nebraska Literacy Plan recommends specifically that “ongoing job-embedded professional development be delivered onsite and supported by instructional coaches or teacher-mentors”. Teachers, especially new graduates, need opportunities to be supported by instructional coaches, learn from other masters in their area, and have time to collaborate with each other.

As state funding continues to be cut, districts struggle to find resources to support this model, especially small districts in which administrators and faculty already function in more than one capacity.

According to “Instructional Coaching” by J. Knight, instructional coaches help teachers incorporate research-based practices into their classrooms, helping students learn more effectively, however, these coaches aren’t financially feasible in all districts. Mentor teachers as coaches as well as teachers functioning in collaborative teams to learn from each other through job embedded learning, are two other ways in which such opportunities occur.

These methods are effective and necessary ways districts must consider, providing professional development within school districts, for the purpose of ensuring student learning from highly qualified faculty.

As a new graduate, going to your first job, would an instructional coach, mentor or collaborative team help you be successful when you enter your new workplace? The problem lies in funding. Where does that money come from? It has to become a priority.