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DKG Practice/Program

Program Implementation

We identified faculty and GSW College of Education staff interested in supporting this program
through their professional expertise. They received the topics of the events, and volunteers were recruited
to facilitate. Faculty were informed of the program’s vision to ensure we dedicated time throughout their
presentations to allow table discussions during the socials. We recruited DKG members and encouraged
each to become a mentor. We paired retired educators with interns because the retired educators no longer
directly worked in the schools.
Each social was structured to provide 45 minutes
of socialization during dinner in GSW’s private
dining hall, followed by a 45–55 minute presentation
with time incorporated for participants to discuss
classroom strategies presented, how to apply the
strategies, and other issues they might be experiencing
in their classrooms not related to the presented topics.
Through the connections of our membership, we
hosted seven DKG members, six GSW faculty and
staff, eight interns, four new teachers, and one local
veteran educator not affiliated with DKG during our
first 2-hour social in September 2022. The inclusion
of the non-DKG educator came from discussions
with a DKG member at a local school. The DKG
member was not a classroom teacher and wanted
someone to support the teachers in her school. The
member and non-DKG educator worked to identify a
new teacher to participate in the event. Not only did the veteran teacher attend but the DKG member also
attended the event to support the teachers in her school.
After an overwhelmingly positive event in September that focused on behavior and classroom
management, we needed to reach more educators for our next social. We had several DKG members
representing only a few schools and districts in our area, but some of our highest-need areas did not have
members working there. We invited novice teachers from the local county and encouraged them to “bring
a friend.” Our topic for the second event focused on family engagement strategies. At this event, not only
did the same participants return from September but we also increased attendance. At the end of this
social, one intern asked why we were not holding these as monthly events. She expressed interest in the
program and enjoyed attending the sessions. This participant’s question was encouraging in suggesting
that we were meeting their needs.
Our third event focused on building classroom community. Several participants could not attend due
to various personal commitments, and those who came
looked and acted exhausted. However, after going
through hands-on activities to use in their classrooms,
those exhausted teachers were smiling, laughing, and
asking questions. One DKG member commented later
how she felt uplifted when she left the social.
As we approached our final event in late March,
we understood educators would be thinking about
those final days before state testing and other year-end
responsibilities. We provided them with strategies to
engage students in fun and educational ways that were

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