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The First Year

StateImpact Indiana follows three Indiana schoolteachers during their first year in the profession.

By Claire McInerny

September 30, 2015

Think about the teachers you had as a kid. How many of them had been teaching for more than 10 years, 20 years, even 30 years? Quite a few probably, because that’s how the profession used to work.

But over the last decade, that’s changed. The education landscape is full of politics and changing protocol around standards, tests and accountability systems. It’s a different career than it used to be.

Now, 40 to 50 percent of new teachers don’t make it past their fifth year.

What is it like to be a new teacher? What happens in classrooms that cause half of new teachers to leave and what makes the other half stay?

StateImpact Indiana’s Claire McInerny is following three Indiana teachers this school year to learn about what makes their first year challenging, what is different than they expected and what makes all the time and hard work worth it.

Gabe Hoffman

Indianapolis

Gabe Hoffman teaches third grade at Nora Elementary School in Indianapolis.

Sara Draper

Brown County

Sara Draper teaches second grade at Helmsberg Elementary in rural Brown County.

Chris Conway

Fishers

Chris Conway teaches math and science to fifth graders at Riverside Intermediate School in Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis.

All posts about First Year

June 9, 2016

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Conway: Focusing On The Positive To Create A Successful Year

Chris Conway found that focusing on the positive impacts he made throughout his first year of teaching puts him in a good place to start his second year.

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Draper: Expectations Have To Change Through The First Year

Second grade teacher Sara Draper experienced her ups and downs through her first year, but says the first year affirmed her desire to teach.

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Hoffman: First Year Challenging, But A Success

First year teacher Gabe Hoffman reflects on his first year in the classroom.

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How Do New Teachers Balance School And Personal Life?

First year teacher Gabe Hoffman is working to balance his demanding school schedule and making time for his personal life.

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How Do We Keep New Teachers In Schools? Good Principals

Teacher retention is an important issue in Indiana right now, and one family of educators wrote a book on how principals can best support new teachers.

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Halftime Report: Reflections On The First Semester

The latest installment in The First Year series checks in with two of the teachers on winter break, to reflect on their first semester in the classroom.

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In The Trenches And At Home, New Teachers Need Support

Getting through a transition year, like the first year in the classroom, requires support from fellow educators but also outsiders.

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Audio Diary: Sara Draper’s Parent-Teacher Conferences

Sara Draper reflects on her first parent-teacher conference experiences.

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Audio Diary: Gabe Hoffman’s Parent-Teacher Conferences

Gabe Hoffman reflects on his first parent-teacher conference experience.

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Audio Diary: Chris Conway’s Parent-Teacher Conferences

Chris Conway reflects on his first parent-teacher conference experience.

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By October, New Teachers Replace Idealism With Reality

Late fall is when a lot of new teachers get frustrated and disillusioned by the job.

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How First Year Teachers Find Their Rhythm In The Classroom

A few weeks into the school year, the first year teachers are using a lot of trial and error to see what teaching tactics work, and don't work, with their kids.