Better Beginning

How can we help new teachers succeed in the classroom? Given high attrition rates and increasing teacher shortages, attracting new teachers and helping them thrive are among the most important challenges that schools face.

A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers lays out the fundamentals for helping new teachers succeed in the schools of the next century: What Do New Teachers Need?; Creating an Induction Program; Making Mentoring Meaningful; Planning Comprehensive Teacher Support; Improving Instruction and Communication; and Listening to Teachers.

Each section features thoughtful chapters from educational leaders. With her colleagues, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University, outlines how best to develop professionals rather than simply induct new teachers into the profession. Ellen Moir, from the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, explains the stages that first-year teachers typically undergo. And English teacher Lisa Renard shows how new teachers can take a positive, proactive approach to their early professional years. The anthology offers views and perspectives of those whose job descriptions include the phrase mentor of new teachers.

From how to coach for competency to how to maintain commitment and enthusiasm, A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers provides veteran and new teachers fresh insights into best practices and programs for tomorrow's teachers.