Being a new teacher is especially stressful and overwhelming: classroom management challenges, lack of administrator support, work-related stress, and feelings of isolation are pushing some to leave the profession all too soon. There are five actions, however, that principals can take to make new teachers a priority now, explain the authors of…

In small rural schools, despite the nourishing sense of community, there is the constant danger of professional isolation. Without enough colleagues for a typically structured PLC, teachers have plenty of community but not enough structured professional learning. With the NW RISE network, however, rural educators are connecting with…

Two education professors developed New Teacher Groups to offer a safe place where beginning teachers can voice their concerns, share their joys and frustrations, and help one another deal with problems. Interviews with participants revealed that nearly two-thirds attended for personal and professional support they could get nowhere else. (MLH)

Discusses hurdles to new principals' success. Principals must respect school culture, including ghosts and heroes; realize that working relationships will change; and anticipate isolation and overwork. Meeting individual teachers, locating the power, keeping central administrators informed, listening and learning, finding mentors, and picking…