New Teachers Thriving

Awardees: Tyler Hester (HGSE), Dana Britt (HGSE), and Merry Chin (HGSE)

Summary: As you’re reading this, 208,000 teachers across the United States are starting their first year in the classroom. Unfortunately, many of them are under-supported. So each year, many slip into despair and burnout. And then many leave the profession. Consider this: In 2017, more than 500 Arizona public school teachers quit by the end of the first month of the school year. This is an enormous problem for school districts. And one with big financial implications: Each teacher who leaves costs the district $21,000. Teachers want to feel better, and districts are desperate for solutions. New Teachers Thriving seeks to transform the new teacher experience in America by training new teachers to achieve personal well-being, enabling them to do better work with students and leave the profession at a lower rate.

New Teachers Thriving seeks to combat the pervasive burnout that plagues teachers in multiple ways. Awardees are writing a book — Don’t Be Miserable in October — that outlines the five pitfalls that lead new teachers into misery and clarifies solutions. Additionally, they will provide in-person trainings for teachers at schools and districts around the country. This year, they’re piloting their training series in partnership with Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union. You can see a copy of the flyer for their course here: https://tinyurl.com/thrive1pager. As of the beginning of November, over 60 teachers have applied to be a part of the course. Finally, they plan to one day offer online courses and develop an app that will enable us to provide the easily accessible, just-in-time support that new teachers need.