In the mind of a beginning educator, the building principal has the ultimate power in determining the quality of their performance and their ongoing employability. In a sense, principals and building administrators are often perceived as the “educational CEOs” of schools by those new to the profession. It is important that beginning educators are known and accepted by those holding administrative positions in a school. To help support the orientation and onboarding of beginning teachers, administrators can:

• Take time to visit with and get to know beginning teachers on a personal level.

Ask questions about who the teacher is outside of the school building. Get to know about their family, their likes and dislikes, and learn to recognize what kind of support they need from administrative personnel.

• Make it a priority to regularly check in with beginning teachers for non-evaluative purposes.

Because administrators are perceived as “the boss,” administrators may need to work a little harder at being seen as friend and not foe. Casual efforts to acknowledge the beginning educator can go a long way to ensuring that educators see administrators as partners and not as adversaries.

• Convey support for the ongoing development of the educator by providing honest and helpful feedback about the work they do.

Acknowledge positive things beginning educators do both in and outside the classroom and be specific about things you notice. Beginning educators crave constructive feedback about the work they do. Do not be afraid to caringly provide the guidance you see they need to move them forward as a professional.

• Visit regularly with mentors to better understand how to support the growth of the beginning educator.

Once a mentor is assigned to a beginning educator, the administrator should periodically follow-up to make sure the mentoring relationship is progressing positively and to determine where administrative support may be needed to facilitate the mentoring process. It is imperative that all administrators value and respect the confidentiality inherent in the mentor/educator relationship. However, general conversation to inform how administration can support mentoring efforts is important.

• Avoid placing beginning educators in positions that are overly demanding in preparation time, or volunteering beginning educators to lead additional committees and clubs.

The demands on beginning educators are vast and most struggle to balance these demands. Asking beginning educators to take on extra classes, or to advise extracurricular clubs and committees should be done on a limited basis to ensure they have time to devote to delivering quality instruction.