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      Supporting new teachers through their first year

      Posted on April 28, 2017 by Anna Kurth Posted in Alumni news, SCSU 4 Me, University news 2 Comments
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      Abdul Wright is standing among a crowd of tables

      Minnesota Teacher of the Year Abdul Wright speaks with teachers during the April New Teachers Workshop. Wright gave the workshop’s keynote address.

      Jacob Hieserich ’16 graduated in 2016 and stepped back into the classroom in September — this time at the head of the class.

      Hieserich is a third grade teacher at Liberty Elementary School in Big Lake.

      He credits his professors at St. Cloud State University for preparing him for the transition, but it’s the support the university has given him after graduation that has made a difference in his first year of teaching.

      As a graduate from the School of Education, Hieserich has access to support for the first three years of his teaching career through the Ignite Center’s New Teacher Workshops.

      Related links

      • New Teacher Workshops
      • Ignite Center
      • Elementary Education

      “It has meant the world to me that my own St. Cloud State has hosted a new teacher workshop for not only first year teachers, but also second year teachers and the surrounding area schools,” Hieserich said. “They have been a place of comfort, where I have shared the ups and downs of my first year with teachers who are in the exact same boat.”

      Held five times a year, the workshops follow the phases of a teacher’s first year in teaching, said Diane Moeller, Ignite Center executive director.

      The workshops are free to all St. Cloud State education graduates as well as to all new teachers in the Ignite Center’s six partner districts.

      The first workshop is held in August each year prior to the teachers’ first day in the classroom and gives new teachers a chance to build relationships with other new teachers, learn about classroom management strategies and learn about who they are as new teachers, said Beth Bergren-Mann, of the Ignite Center.

      teachers talking at a table

      Teachers hold a discussion during the April New Teachers Workshop.

      “The power is in new teachers coming together from across the region because they all have professional development in their own school districts, but this is where they get to network with other leaders they wouldn’t have an opportunity to meet staying in their own district,” Bergren-Mann said.

      In October the workshop brings in veteran teachers to inspire discussions, and in December the topic focuses on stress reduction.

      In February the workshop breaks teachers into separate sessions focused on the teacher’s individual areas of focus. The year ends with a celebration of the first year of teaching in April that features a dynamic keynote speaker, Bergren-Mann said, adding that Minnesota Teacher of the Year Abdul Wright presented the keynote address this April.

      St. Cloud State has been putting on the new teacher workshops since 2011.

      From the workshops, Hieserich has taken teaching techniques and pointers from other teachers back to his classroom.

      The conversations are the most beneficial piece. Speaking with middle and high school education teachers gives a perspective of where these students are heading, he said.

      “We are not alone, but a team, and together we can really make or break these students,” he said. “Talking with other teachers has helped keep me rejuvenated when I felt flustered or down on myself. We are all learning together, even though we aren’t in the same schools or districts.”

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      2 thoughts on “Supporting new teachers through their first year”

      1. Kirsten Croone says:
        May 2, 2017 at 9:40 pm

        I would love to participate! I graduated from SCSU in ’94 with an elementary and middle school degree and now teach in St. Paul at Washington Tech Secondary-8th grade Global Studies. This program sounds amazing and would have loved this support when I started teaching. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help support our new teachers!

        Reply
        • Beth Mann says:
          May 3, 2017 at 3:21 pm

          Hi Kirsten!
          How wonderful to read your supportive comment and offer to help our new teachers! I will put you on my list of facilitators and maybe in the future we will expand our workshops at a location closer to the twin cities.
          Thank you again!
          Beth

          Reply

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