Who was your favorite teacher? This question probably sends you right back to the classroom where you met the educator who would have an impact on your learning journey forever. Almost anyone can quickly recall their favorite instructor and the strong relationship they created between you and your learning journey. That positive experience shows how significant and valuable teachers are to our students.
Teachers have a tremendous responsibility to make or break a student's experience in a classroom. They create a classroom environment where students develop relationships with school and learning. This is a HUGE undertaking to place on teachers, which may sometimes feel overwhelming. That is why it's critical that the education community focus on building up as much support behind these impact leaders and their classroom environments as possible.
Let's not sugar-coat it: Teachers being overworked and stretched thin is nothing new. The expectations they need to meet without adequate resources leave them drained. Districts must help teachers navigate quality resources that can bolster teacher success. It is essential for teachers to feel supported so they can give that same experience to their students, which then creates positive memories & associations of school for students.
Here are different ways to support your teachers to allow them to be their best:
1. Nurture an Authentic Workplace
Having a safe and authentic workplace is essential for teachers to thrive. It is vital for teachers to feel as though their workplace has their best interest in mind, and they can trust the leadership to support them. Equity for educators should be at the forefront of the district. Teachers want the opportunity to express their feedback and hope that leadership values and trusts their observations and uses them to improve the environment.
2. More Planning Time
Provide planning periods for teachers to use throughout the day, so they don't need to take work home. A productive day of teaching requires considerable planning time to design lessons, prepare materials and collaborate with colleagues. Districts that find creative ways for their educators to focus on individual and collaborative planning time during the school day will improve teacher satisfaction and positively affect their capability to help students reach their potential.
3. High-Quality Supplemental Learning Solutions (such as FEV Tutor)
It's clear that there are many learning solutions out there that promise to support teachers and students. Finding a solution that checks those boxes all while providing high-quality learning support can be challenging, but that's where we come in. FEV Tutor's High-Impact Tutoring programs are proven and designed to be an extension of the classroom by accomplishing a few things.
FEV Tutor develops a customized tutoring program that ensures the most impactful learning outcomes for students. Our team works in close collaboration with all stakeholders, to align our tutoring to your organization's core learning environment. We partner with educators to identify targeted student cohorts and leverage assessment and benchmark data to develop plans for each student.
Programs can be provided during the school day to support teachers with student learning, and students can continue their lessons with FEV Tutor at home for after-hour support as well. Student data is tracked on a weekly basis and can be accessed by teachers and school leaders. Using benchmark data correlated with our platform's data, we provide teachers with periodic Academic Impact Analysis to demonstrate improvement and success across shared academic outcome goals.
At FEV Tutor, we know that nothing replaces a good teacher, but we also know good teachers need more support. Our goal is to provide high-quality education support to students so teachers feel less strained, more empowered, and better supported to provide the best instruction to their students.
You want your students to have those core memories of their favorite teacher in your building. Take the right steps today to provide the resources to allow teachers to give students those positive associations of school. Supported teachers allow more freedom to dive into their students and leave them with lasting memories to carry with them for a lifetime.