A mentoring program for early career teachers is nurturing a new and diverse generation of educators at Marist Sisters’ College Woolwich.

Ryan Leonard was an academic and research scientist with a PhD on honey bee cognition before he joined the college’s staff as a newly-minted biology and science teacher in 2022.

That same year, graduate Visual Arts teacher Lili Negrine began her first permanent teaching role at the college and the task of guiding students through their HSC.

Both were among 19 early career teachers on staff in 2022 and joined the college’s pilot coaching and development program alongside peers with diverse backgrounds.

The two-year program is aligned to national professional standards for teachers and supports new teachers in four domains: professional identity, professional practice, wellbeing, and orientation.

It embodies the recommendations of the Australian government’s Strong Beginnings report into initial teacher education released in June 2023.

Mentoring matters

Instructional Specialist Melissa Carson brings 30 years of teaching experience to her role as program coordinator and mentor.

“We focus on teaching practice and work with faculty groups and one-to-one on what can make a difference to students’ learning growth,” Ms Carson said. “They come out of the program fully accredited.”

Ms Carson said the coaching experience needed to be authentic and agile to help new teachers adjust to the demands of the profession.

“Even though there has been a marked improvement in the accreditation process to become a professional teacher, it’s still daunting,” Ms Carson said.

“An experienced teacher looks at the standards and says ‘You do that every day, it will take you no time to find that evidence’. The coaching gives them time and space …