Creating alliances for student success

Teaching can often feel like an isolating experience, especially for newer teachers. But there’s no need to feel alone. In fact, reaching out to others in your school community — parents, paraprofessionals, colleagues — is a good way to create support systems for yourself and enlist allies in the education of your students.

Here are some suggestions for creating connections right in your school:

Make parents your allies. Get a good home-school relationship started early in the school year. Even before Open School Week (see the Newcomer Checklist on this page for dates), send a note home to introduce yourself, explain your plans and expectations, and ask for parental support. (Have the note translated into other languages, where appropriate.) Suggest a few things that caregivers can do at home regularly to help their child succeed and tell them how to contact you. Leave space for parents to sign that they have read your note and will do their part. Go to www.uft.org/parents for more ideas.

Engage with paraprofessionals. If a paraprofessional is assigned to work with your class, foster a good working relationship right from the start. Schedule a time to meet, explain your plans and expectations for the students, and discuss the role that the para can play within your framework. Developing clear responsibilities for your para will benefit you and your students, and will involve your paraprofessional in a meaningful way.

Line up a mentor or buddy. If you feel like you’re at sea without a paddle, a friendly colleague can help you navigate those choppy waters. If you qualify for a mentor, be sure you have one assigned to work with you. Otherwise, ask your colleagues or your chapter leader to suggest a buddy teacher. You’ll have someone to go to with all your questions — and don’t hesitate to ask even questions that seem insignificant. Asking questions shows that you are interested and eager to learn.

Make the most of team teaching. If you are providing Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT/CCT) services in your classroom, check out the resources on the UFT’s website at www.uft.org/co-teaching. Scroll down to review the six models of co-teaching, discuss them with your co-teacher and become thoroughly familiar with them. If you realize that you have been using the one-teach, one-assist model, try to identify specific subjects or activities where you can use one of the other models. As the semester progresses, assess whether co-teaching is meeting your students’ needs or if they need additional help. For example, students reading significantly below grade level may need additional specialized reading instruction.

Consult your chapter leader. Your school’s elected union representative is also a knowledgeable educator and can be an excellent source of information and your first line of defense if you run into problems. Chapter leaders can answer questions about educational issues and professional development opportunities as well as salary, benefits, rules and regulations. (If they don’t know the answer, they will check with union experts who do and get back to you or refer you to someone in your UFT borough office.) They also can advocate for you if your rights are not respected — for example, if your classes exceed class-size limits, which hurts student achievement.