On-Boarding New Teachers
Devoting the time and resources to creating an intentional and reflective approach to efficiently and humanely bringing new hires into your school's culture and program can pay off in more effective teaching, a happier and more stable faculty, and more effective work toward institutional strategic goals.

Webinars

Creating an Intentional Faculty Culture - Our July 7 webinar, the first installment in a month-long series on onboarding, features a conversation with Susanna Jones, Head of School at Holton Arms School, and Naa-Adei Kotey, Academic Dean at St. Paul's Schools, who, along with Brad Rathgeber, discuss how to build an intentional faculty culture.

On-Boarding New Faculty - Academic Leaders webinar on welcoming and onboarding new faculty. Peter and Sarah present on a combination of the "always" best practices along with some ideas about onboarding that are particular to this year.

The BEST Teacher Handbook, Ever! - You may have an employee handbook, the statutory guide to rules and regulations for employees, but does your school have a source where teachers, new and veteran, can learn in detail about your practices and policies, your culture, your traditions, and your special language and terminology? Veteran administrator and past ICG executive director Peter Gow will offer participants a framework for creating “The BEST Teacher Handbook, Ever!”—a resource for teachers and administrators to expedite the learning curve for teachers new to the school and to codify important aspects of your school’s culture and internal brand. ​

On-Boarding New Faculty, Part II - Sarah Hanawald and Peter Gow presented on welcoming and onboarding new faculty, a year-long process.

Teacher Orientation and Induction: Doing It Right! - it takes more than a day to prepare a new teacher for your school’s culture and practices. The author of NAIS’s An Admirable Faculty: Recruiting, Hiring, Training, and Retaining the Best Independent School Teachers lays out a framework for making sure that new teachers—whether new to the profession or veteran—hit the ground running from the first day of school. Presented by Peter Gow, then of the Independent Curriculum Group and now Independent Resource Curriculum Director at One Schoolhouse..
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Ways to Engage

Resources

Online Courses

• A Teacher's Guide to Life and Work: ​Veteran administrator and past ICG executive director Peter Gow offers a framework for creating a great handbook—a resource for teachers and administrators to expedite the learning curve for teachers new to the school and to codify important aspects of your school’s culture and internal brand.
• The Mentoring Chapter from Peter Gow's an Admirable Faculty: Recruiting, Hiring, Training, and Retaining the Best Independent School Teachers (One Schoolhouse edition, 2020): This chapter lays out a philosophy for an effective mentoring program as well as best practices in independent school teacher mentoring.
• Teacher Orientation Week Model Schedule: Taking a full week or even a bit more to bring new faculty up to speed at your school can pay off in many obvious and even not so obvious ways. This sample template suggests a week-long schedule of activities designed to prepare new teachers for all areas of life at your school.
• What Leaders Must Learn About The First Follower Principle: As mentioned in this week's Academic Leaders Webinar below, having a great First Follower can make all difference between standing alone, and getting full buy in and acceptance from your community. Here's the TEDtalk too!
• How Can We Foster Effective Teacher Collaboration? This Ambition Institute article shares that teachers become more effective when they work alongside highly effective colleagues, and that this is particularly true for teachers at the start of their careers. 
• What Role Does Teacher Collaboration Play in Better Teaching? The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) asked teachers and school leaders from 48 countries about how they collaborate with their colleagues to improve student learning.
• Preparing Staff for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives: Getting teacher buy-in is the most important step in laying the groundwork for conversations on DEIB policies and priorities. This article provides tips and resources for laying the groundwork for those crucial conversations. 
• New Teachers: Lesson and Curriculum Planning: Here’s an Edutopia collection of curriculum-planning tips, guidance, and other resources to help new teachers plan for a successful start to the year. 

Secondary Resources

• Teacher Retention: It Starts with Strong Onboarding: Efforts to welcome new teachers to your school community and prepare them for the new school year are critical, but establishing and maintaining a strong school culture is an ongoing part of the job. Here are five tips from Selected that will strengthen your teacher onboarding process.
• New Employee Onboarding Guide: Proper onboarding is key to retaining, engaging talent. This SHRM article offers guidance and additional resources on: getting started; creating an onboarding program; the first day; the first few months; and the first year. 
• Starting on the Right Foot: Faculty Onboarding With a Purpose: This brief overview from AAMC will explore how to build institutional culture through onboarding and how to set up your faculty for success by helping them create a sense of identity in their new position.

• Introduction to Independent Schools;​ ​This course is designed as an orientation for newly hired educators who are new to the independent school community. Participants will have the opportunity to explore the missions, cultures and learning environments of their school before arriving on campus. They will learn how they impact the classroom environment and explore ways to create a collaborative student-centered learning space. Dates Offered: August 2-13, 2021​

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Blogs

What Makes Teacher Onboarding Stick July 13, 2021
Intentional Approaches To Onboarding Are More Important Than Ever July 5, 2021

The Pulse of Academic Leaders ​​

What resources do you provide to new faculty before the start of the school year? July 9, 2021