Now that you have that job offer, the third question you should be asking is if a teacher mentoring programs in the school or district is available. Some states approve certificate renewals without additional coursework if the new teacher participated in a two year mentor program.
Mentoring helps novice teachers face their first year of teaching with support from a mentor teacher in answering the day to day questions of managing a classroom, ways to navigate the "school systems," prioritize the day to day tasks, and maintain a healthy perspective when new teachers feel things are piling up on them.
Mentors also assist in lesson planning, best practices, observing the new teacher and providing feedback. New teachers also face the challenge of the alphabet soup of education: IEP, RtI, AP, DI, CC, QAR and the many school improvement efforts that mentor teachers can interpret for them!
Mentoring programs are a MUST for a first and second year teacher! Does your new school/district have one?
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