Resource Roundup for New Teachers
Date Posted: 10/17/2018
Congratulations on making the decision to become a Texas teacher! You have a challenging but rewarding journey ahead of you, and ATPE is here to make the road as smooth as possible. Below is a roundup of resources to help you during your first year—and beyond.
Your First Classroom
ATPE’s free download, Your First Classroom, is a valuable “quick start” guide for new educators. It includes checklists for preparing for your first day, tips on managing your classroom, strategies for communicating with parents, and more. Visit atpe.org/firstclassroom to download this essential resource.
YES Texas!
The YES Texas! Advisory Council helps ATPE meet the needs of future, young, and new educators, and makes sure we deliver products that meet those needs. ATPE takes the council’s recommendations to heart—we have created many new programs for young educators based on their advice! Head to atpe.org/YES-Texas to read more. And if you want to join this council for the coming year, please reach out to Joy England at jengland@atpe.org for more info.
Classroom Management
Start the year off on the right foot by establishing classroom expectations early. Make sure you put in place positive reinforcement for good behavior, as well as policies to address students who don’t follow the classroom guidelines. Get all the info at atpe.org/Resources/New-Teachers/Classroom-Management.
Finding a Mentor
A mentor can help ease your transition from student to educator, acting as a coach to guide you. Find out if your campus or school district offers a new-teacher mentoring program, such as Millsap ISD’s program, spearheaded by an ATPE member. Plus, check out what two ATPE members had to say about their mentor-mentee partnership in this blog post.
Legal Questions?
As a new teacher, you’re going to have a lot of questions. Some of those questions might be hard to address on your campus, so be sure to check out ATPE’s new, free resource The Answer Key. This downloadable guide is for ATPE members and addresses campus concerns with answers to common legal questions—and so much more.
Evaluations
Observations and evaluations can be a source of stress for a lot of teachers, but ATPE has a ton of resources on the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (known as the T-TESS)—the most common tool used to evaluate Texas public school teachers. Visit atpe.org/T-TESS, and don’t miss our FAQs on observations from the Fall 2018 issue of ATPE News.
Professional Development
Don’t forget about ATPE’s online learning portal at atpe.org/cpe. Here, you can earn free continuing professional education (CPE) credits via online courses and webinars—on your own time.. On the portal, you can watch past SXSW EDU sessions, courses on project-based or emotional and social learning, and webinars on tips and tricks for the classroom.
Words of Wisdom from Veteran Teachers
Sometimes the resource you need for your first year of teaching is advice and encouragement from those who’ve been in your shoes. Read our Know and Tell article from the spring 2018 issue of ATPE News magazine or this post on our new teachers resource page.
For a full list of ATPE resources, visit atpe.org/Resources.
Not an ATPE member? Join the state’s top professional educators’ organization today.
Your First Classroom
ATPE’s free download, Your First Classroom, is a valuable “quick start” guide for new educators. It includes checklists for preparing for your first day, tips on managing your classroom, strategies for communicating with parents, and more. Visit atpe.org/firstclassroom to download this essential resource.
YES Texas!
The YES Texas! Advisory Council helps ATPE meet the needs of future, young, and new educators, and makes sure we deliver products that meet those needs. ATPE takes the council’s recommendations to heart—we have created many new programs for young educators based on their advice! Head to atpe.org/YES-Texas to read more. And if you want to join this council for the coming year, please reach out to Joy England at jengland@atpe.org for more info.
Classroom Management
Start the year off on the right foot by establishing classroom expectations early. Make sure you put in place positive reinforcement for good behavior, as well as policies to address students who don’t follow the classroom guidelines. Get all the info at atpe.org/Resources/New-Teachers/Classroom-Management.
Finding a Mentor
A mentor can help ease your transition from student to educator, acting as a coach to guide you. Find out if your campus or school district offers a new-teacher mentoring program, such as Millsap ISD’s program, spearheaded by an ATPE member. Plus, check out what two ATPE members had to say about their mentor-mentee partnership in this blog post.
Legal Questions?
As a new teacher, you’re going to have a lot of questions. Some of those questions might be hard to address on your campus, so be sure to check out ATPE’s new, free resource The Answer Key. This downloadable guide is for ATPE members and addresses campus concerns with answers to common legal questions—and so much more.
Evaluations
Observations and evaluations can be a source of stress for a lot of teachers, but ATPE has a ton of resources on the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (known as the T-TESS)—the most common tool used to evaluate Texas public school teachers. Visit atpe.org/T-TESS, and don’t miss our FAQs on observations from the Fall 2018 issue of ATPE News.
Professional Development
Don’t forget about ATPE’s online learning portal at atpe.org/cpe. Here, you can earn free continuing professional education (CPE) credits via online courses and webinars—on your own time.. On the portal, you can watch past SXSW EDU sessions, courses on project-based or emotional and social learning, and webinars on tips and tricks for the classroom.
Words of Wisdom from Veteran Teachers
Sometimes the resource you need for your first year of teaching is advice and encouragement from those who’ve been in your shoes. Read our Know and Tell article from the spring 2018 issue of ATPE News magazine or this post on our new teachers resource page.
For a full list of ATPE resources, visit atpe.org/Resources.
Not an ATPE member? Join the state’s top professional educators’ organization today.