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DKG Practice/Program

community as well as the educators in my building and administration.
Appreciative for all these opportunities and understanding the needs
of new teachers, I always felt a need to give back. DKG at the chapter
level was a way to do this. My first try was organizing a new-teacher
bag project. Members donated supplies, which were supplemented
using chapter funds. At a chapter meeting, we had fun decorating and
filling the bags that included a note of encouragement along with a
DKG brochure. Members who were actively teaching brought the
bags to new teachers in their buildings. It was our hope to cultivate a
relationship with the new teachers and eventually ask them to join us.
The early-career educators enjoyed the gifts, yet the project did not
result in a substantial number joining our chapter. The project proved
a disappointment for increasing membership, but we realized that
new teachers faced increased demands on their time with seemingly
constant changes to curriculum and policies. In addition, many were
just starting their careers and needed additional time to plan lessons and write units. Some were starting
their own families or helping aging parents . . . or both! As many of our members reached retirement age,
connections with new teachers became less feasible. Based on my previous teaching experiences and in
a new position as an Instructional Leadership Specialist with a math focus for my building, I began to
ponder a different method to help support new teachers.

Another Approach to Support Early-Career Educators

Among other responsibilities related to professional development, I worked closely with teachers in their
classrooms. I saw a need for early-career educators to develop standards-based units. The outcome was
a proposal to my chapter for a new teacher grant that would provide funds to teachers in supplementing
a standards-based unit in their classrooms. The chapter formed a New Teacher Grant Committee to
determine what was to be in the final application. Our Massachusetts Alpha Chapter was enthusiastic
about this new endeavor.
The goal of our SEE project was to support one new teacher with a mini grant. Members who
were actively teaching brought applications to colleagues in their buildings. One applicant submitted
a proposal of less than 500 words the first year it was offered. It included a standards-based project
description, a booklist, the equipment needed,
and costs to implement the project. This project
integrated a Grade 3 science unit on the solar
system with literature, art, and a performance.
Students conducted research, created models
of planets, and wrote a play. Student work was
exhibited, and a culminating performance based
on the project was open to educators, parents, and
press.
With the principal’s agreement, we offered
a chapter member who was a retired teacher
working as the building substitute to help any
interested teachers in that building to complete
the application. Two more grants were awarded,
but then subsequent years were affected by the
COVID pandemic. The current New Teacher

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