Coaching Them Through It: How San Antonio Supports First-Year Teachers

The Peer Support Partnership is an intensive, one-year mentorship program in which 11 veteran teachers work with approximately 150 of the 300 to 400 new teachers hired each year by the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), Texas. A joint effort of the SAISD and the local union, the program was created three years ago to improve teacher recruitment and retention. It is modeled on Peer Assistance and Review programs in other states, where successful teachers leave the classroom for a few years to work full time as one-on-one mentors with new teachers and with veterans who need support. The program pairs consulting teachers (CTs), who must have at least six years of experience, with first-year teachers in some of the district's highest-needs schools. Each CT works full time mentoring 12 to 15 brand-new teachers each year. After three years, CTs return to the classroom, or they have the option to remain CTs for a fourth year. CTs meet monthly to discuss mentoring challenges and bounce instructional ideas off each other. They also meet regularly with principals at the schools where they are supporting new teachers, and they travel to nearby job fairs to promote SAISD and highlight its Peer Support Partnership.