Building a Strong Foundation

Now, more than ever, schools need to develop, support, and retain excellent teachers.

With the growing teacher shortage, leaders need to know how to support new teachers and keep them in the profession. In Building a Strong Foundation, experienced principal Michelle Hope lays out specific strategies and solutions that school leaders can use to help teachers build critical skills and confidence during their first five years in the classroom.

The first step is to create a welcoming, emotionally safe culture with support systems, and the book provides advice for building trust and establishing operational, relational, and instructional conditions to set teachers up for success. With that strong foundation in place, leaders can focus on providing professional development, modeling, and coaching related to the six key areas of practice where new and novice teachers tend to need the most support:

▪ Putting relationships first
▪ Managing classrooms effectively
▪ Encouraging family involvement
▪ Planning lessons
▪ Communicating and maintaining high academic expectations
▪ Ensuring equity

Dr. Hope's guidance is actionable, focused, and informed by years of experience and research. When leaders help establish expectations and offer targeted training and mentorship, teachers will quickly develop the confidence and skills they need to stay and thrive in the profession.

Dr. Michelle Hope is a National Board–certified educator with extensive teaching, district-level coaching, and school leadership experience. She has a passion for public education, curriculum writing, teacher development, and school improvement planning and considers the opportunity to work with teachers and students an honor. She is currently serving as a school principal at a preK–5 elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @LoveServeTeach.