PMP461: Supporting New Teachers with Jenn David-Lang and Kim Marshall

A quick note to listeners: 

Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker take a few minutes to discuss the following question:

What would a spouse tell a principal stepping into their first year on the job?

Listen in to hear their response!

Meet Kim Marshall and Jenn David-Lang:

Kim Marshall is a veteran educator and writer known for his work on teacher development, leadership, and school improvement. After spending 32 years in the Boston Public Schools—as a teacher, principal, and central office leader—he began writing and consulting full-time. He’s best known for The Marshall Memo, a weekly summary of important research and ideas for educators, and for his work on teacher supervision and evaluation. Kim’s mission is to help educators stay informed, inspired, and focused on what matters most for student success.

Jenn David-Lang is an experienced educator, writer, and professional learning facilitator known for making education research accessible and actionable. She is the founder of The Main Idea, a service that provides monthly summaries of essential education books for busy school leaders. With a background in teaching, leadership, and coaching, Jenn combines deep knowledge with practical insights to support school improvement. Her mission is to empower educators with the tools and ideas they need to lead with clarity and purpose.

They are the authors of two books, The Best of the Marshall Memo: Book One and Book Two: Ideas and Action Steps to Energize Leadership, Teaching, and Learning and they received a grant to upload all of the chapters to a website to offer these materials for FREE (bestofmarshallmemo.org)

Teacher Induction Program:

Throughout the episode, Kim Marshall and Jenn David-Lang discuss teacher induction programs with Will Parker. They discuss how little preparation first-years teachers usually get before being thrust into the classroom. According to Harry Wong, around 50% of new teachers do not receive any training before they begin teaching. Additionally, 40%-60% of teachers end up leaving the profession, and 11% will quit within the first year. If school leaders want to ensure that their teachers feel well-prepared for the job, they should invest time in developing quality teacher induction programs for new teachers. Kim and Jenn point listeners to a number of resources that they can turn to for help developing effective teacher induction programs. 

A Teacher’s First 90 Days:

One takeaway that Jenn and Kim impress on listeners is the importance of skill building during the first 90 days of a teacher’s career. Teachers can improve as much in one year as many teachers improve in their first twenty years when they receive classroom management and rigorous skills training in their first 90 days on the job. Unfortunately, many school leaders have a “sink or swim” mindset when it comes to new teachers. This mindset leads to new teachers not receiving help that may keep them in the profession. As the conversation progresses, Kim Marshall and Jenn David-Lang offer a few pieces of advice on how school leaders can help new teachers in their first 90 days on the job. School leaders can help new teachers by answering questions new teachers may have in advance, providing them the opportunity to observe veteran teachers, and figuring out how to do a workload reduction for new teachers. 

Teacher Burnout:

Jenn and Kim have spent much of their respective careers researching ways that school leaders can improve teacher outcomes. Through their research, they have uncovered some of the most overlooked contributors to teacher burnout or turnover. They point out that the number one most cited reason that teachers are burning out is school leadership. Whether burnout is caused by excessive workload, the teacher evaluation system, or student behavior, all of these factors are heavily influenced by school leadership. They point listeners towards an article about how leaders put too little effort into retaining high-performing teachers. School leaders should conduct stay interviews with their teachers every year to find out what it will take for teachers to return the following year. 

Staying Connected:

You can learn more about Jenn David-Lang and Kim Marshall by visiting their website. Stay tuned for next week’s episode to learn more about supporting teachers!

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