New Teacher Center

New Teacher Center

Across-Ages

Across-ages programs may target specific subgroups of children that tend to have multiple risk factors, especially those in a state welfare program or those with multiple adverse childhood experiences such as abuse or neglect. Donors interested in a particular group of children may want to invest in that subgroup across their education trajectories. Alternatively, across-ages programs may work on issues at a more systemic level. Examples include improving teaching quality or incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) into academic instruction. It can also include updating policies within a school system to introduce more effective practices in addressing certain behavioral infractions. These interventions help all students and may be implemented on a larger scale in entire schools and districts. Below we profile a nonprofit that trains veteran teachers to coach new teachers so they can have a positive impact throughout their careers.

Across-Ages

Across-ages programs may target specific subgroups of children that tend to have multiple risk factors, especially those in a state welfare program or those with multiple adverse childhood experiences such as abuse or neglect. Donors interested in a particular group of children may want to invest in that subgroup across their education trajectories. Alternatively, across-ages programs may work on issues at a more systemic level. Examples include improving teaching quality or incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) into academic instruction. It can also include updating policies within a school system to introduce more effective practices in addressing certain behavioral infractions. These interventions help all students and may be implemented on a larger scale in entire schools and districts. Below we profile a nonprofit that trains veteran teachers to coach new teachers so they can have a positive impact throughout their careers.

What it does

Teaching quality is the single most influential in-school factor affecting student achievement. In the U.S., almost 25% of new teachers leave after the first three years, with rates as high as 66% in some lower-income urban districts such as New York and Chicago. NTC partners with school districts in 31 states to support and retain some 24,000 new teachers per year. NTC works closely with district partners to train veteran teachers as mentors and coaches who work intensively with new teachers over a two-year period. Mentors work one-on-one with new teachers in weekly sessions, and assist them through instructional or administrative issues. NTC has grown to 550 districts over the past 20 years. It also has a package for coaching more experienced teachers in new Common Core curricula, and has launched programs for school and district leaders, early childhood educators, STEM instructors, and harder-to-reach rural teachers.

How effective is it

Students of new teachers exposed to NTC gained an additional 2 to 3.5 months of reading and 2.4 to 4.5 months of math over comparison students after the two-year program, or the equivalent of nearly a semester of learning. Moreover, NTC internal tracking shows that teacher retention rates in NTC schools are about 30 percentage points above local and national averages after two years.

Including all additional district expenses, NTC professional development costs a total of $5,600 to $8,000 per teacher annually, depending on location. Costs include training mentors and district program leaders, coaching, and consultation for the first two years, and then continued support. By contrast, traditional district-led professional development costs an average of $18,000 per teacher per year. Plus, better retention can save an urban district about $8,750 per teacher who stays.

How you can help

About 40% of NTC’s budget comes from philanthropy, with the rest split between district partners and federal grants. Funders interested in partnering with NTC can contact Director of Development, Sid Klein, at sklein@newteachercenter.org. Donors can also support district partners through local education funds.

Personalize this project

If NTC is not in your area, you can support other organizations that use embedded professional development to provide on-the-job training and feedback, such as New Leaders, the Achievement Network and Children’s Literacy Initiative. School reform models that focus on teacher effectiveness include Talent Development Secondary and Success for All.