The past couple of academic years have been unlike any other. From nationwide school closures to a combination of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning models—teachers have had to adapt and manage the unexpected.
However, this is not the first time that SEED’s—and our nation’s—teachers have shown perseverance and found the capacity to do great things for their students and their student’s families during challenging times. Key to our team’s resilience has been their commitment to partnering and learning from each other. Veteran teachers and new teachers partnered with each other to determine what would work best for our scholars—and this not only strengthened their professional relationships—but it also helped teachers feel more connected to each other, to their schools, and to the profession.
At SEED, we saw these bonds develop most notably through the work of our instructional coaches. “Our teachers report that they appreciate the immediate access to someone that can help them in the classroom. Our teachers are getting regular support,” shared Dr. Kara Locke, head of school at The SEED School of Miami (SEED Miami). With the support of an instructional coach, new teachers to SEED come on board with a dedicated team member—who is skilled in classroom pedagogy—there to assist with acclimating to SEED’s boarding environment, mastering the curriculum content, learning how to check for understanding among students, and implementing a model of care. Additionally, they have a key person they can ask questions and who will assist if they stumble.
The implementation of instructional coaches not only benefits new teachers to SEED, but it also gives more seasoned teachers the opportunity to test a potential next step in their career. “Being an instructional coach gives mid-level teachers the ability to dip their toe in the water. It gives them a small caseload—they have four teachers that informally report to them. It’s a great way for someone that is an emerging or aspiring leader to learn and experience a possible next step in their career.”
This idea of teachers helping teachers has spread to SEED’s student life programming—the boarding component of SEED’s 24-hour, five-day-a-week program which extends to before and after the academic day. Every student life counselor has access to a coach that has previously served in this role to receive feedback regularly. Through this, we can continue to maintain a level of excellence not only during the academic day, but also through our life skills instruction and enrichment activities.
Though our new and veteran teachers are continuing to face unique challenges, they have committed to constantly improving their craft collaboratively, putting in the time, effort, and attention to ongoing learning for themselves and their students. At SEED, we know that a commitment to personal growth is a commitment to every SEED student's positive learning experience.
Interested in learning about joining the SEED team? Click here for access to careers that directly impact our country’s most resilient youth. Our on-the-job training, leadership coaching, and Network-wide exchanging of best practices help our staff excel. By utilizing our existing pool of experienced, successful school leaders to increase teaching capacity in all our schools, we ensure consistent implementation and replication of the SEED model.