It is not January 1st, but it’s a “new year” in a teacher’s life. The new school year always comes with a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation. We recharge after a few weeks off (if we chose not to work during the summer). We have new opportunities to impact a new group of kids in our classrooms! It’s an exciting time! Sometimes with excitement, comes uncertainty. Some of us are starting at a new school, or school district, with new colleagues, new students, and maybe even a new role in education. This year I am beginning my journey as an instructional coach in a new district, on a new campus with new colleagues and students (hence the uncertainty mentioned above).
I have been a teacher for over 20 years in Arizona. I absolutely loved being a classroom teacher! During the pandemic, my outlook changed about my role in education. I found during those two difficult years that even though I was a veteran teacher, I needed more support. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for newer teachers during that time. I decided that maybe I could step out of the classroom and be the person that provides the support and assistance that we all so desperately needed. I struggled with the decision to leave the classroom as a teacher. As a classroom teacher, I was able to impact the 25 students in my class, but as a coach, I could assist teachers and make a bigger impact on all students.
In February I was casually looking into instructional coaching positions in surrounding school districts. I was floored when I saw that there was a school district that was adding instructional coaches to every elementary school, junior high, and high school districtwide. It is an amazing opportunity to start this new phase of my journey at the onset of the districtwide implementation. I wanted to move into a supportive role, so this was the perfect time to make that shift!
School started a few weeks back and I admit, I felt a little lost about what my new role “looked like”. Change can be difficult, but so far, I have been working on building relationships with the staff and even had the chance to get back into the classroom by co-teaching and modeling lessons. It truly has been a win-win for me! The sole purpose of my job is to make things easier for teachers. So far, I have been assisting with new curriculum implementation, providing resources, helping teachers organize materials, assisting with assessments, providing coverage for classes when needed and assisting teachers dive into new data, and visiting classrooms every day. So far, I am loving this new position and I am so grateful that I have the chance to assist teachers and provide support where it is needed. I am hoping that I become more confident in this role as the year progresses (hence the uncertainty mentioned above), and make a difference in the lives of the students and staff at my new school! I am excited to start this “new year”, uncertain, but excited! What are your feelings about starting this school year?
Image from istockphoto.com
Sarah Kirchoff
Sarah Kirchoff is an instructional coach in Mesa Public Schools. She has over 20 years of experience in early childhood education. She began her teaching career way back in August 1999, when everyone was worried about Y2K. She did not even have computers in her classroom at that time! Since then, she has taught first grade for four years, preschool for three years, second grade for two years and kindergarten for twelve years. She has worked for three different school districts during her teaching career. During this time, she has been able to identify which grade she found to be the most enjoyable. Her greatest teaching passion is for kindergarten. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University. She was teacher of the year at her school in the 2019-2020 school year. She became a National Board Certified Teacher as an Early Childhood Generalist in December of 2020. She currently serves on numerous committees at her school including school site council, the instructional leadership team, and the culture and climate team. She is a mentor teacher at her school and has mentored numerous interns and student teaching candidates. When she is not busy with school commitments, she spends time with her family. She has a husband who is also a teacher, and four children. Two of which are students at NAU and two that are in high school. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading books and spending time with family, friends and her two dogs. Children need a teacher that is always advocating for them, socially, emotionally, and academically. Sarah wants every student she encounters to realize their potential and she is willing to help in any way she can. The impact early childhood educators have on students reaches far beyond their younger years. Sarah wants to leave a positive impact on her students so they can continue to have wonderful educational experiences beyond her classroom and school.
Comments 1
I completely agree that the feeling of uncertainty is one of the main feelings teachers have at the beginning of the school year. I always experience this when looking at my class list. I wonder how their summer was. What will they need from me to be successful? What challenges or gaps do they have that need to be filled in order to prepare them for this year? But it’s an uncertainty that is filled with hopeful expectations and that drives me to come back each year!
Enjoy this new position and start of this new year!