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Educational Excellence

• Needing more mental health and resource help.
• Experiencing criticism from parents.
• Needing more support from administrators.
• Dealing with a lack of substitutes.

Professional and Personal Needs

Professional needs varied. Some of the key needs that came out of the interviews were:
• More professional development workshops.
• Finding time to fit in subject matter that students will need in the real world: buying a car, managing
a checking account and credit cards, getting a loan, and so forth.
• More educational leaders who work hard and work hard together for the well-being of students
and staff.
• More, better, and updated classroom materials.
• Being treated like a professional.
• Better and more objective evaluation tools.
On a personal level, early-career educators indicated they need:
• More time, better pay, and a more supportive work environment.
• More mental health support.
• Better work-life balance.
• More support from parents and the community.
• A friend or mentor to understand what teachers do and what students need.
• Supportive administrators and staff.
• Respected planning time.
• Added compensation when substituting for another.

Summary
This was not a scientific study; it was simply the members of the International Educational Excellence
Committee interviewing early-career educators in all regions of DKG. The similarities of answers from
interviewees were striking, and this informal study was important because DKG has been focusing on
recruiting early-career educators. The results
provide a window into the needs of early-career
educators, and if we work to meet those needs,
we are more likely to bring them into our Society.
With insight to their perceptions and needs,
chapters and state organizations can develop
programs, workshops, and mentorships to help
early-career educators—with the goal of keeping
them in education and having them become a part
of DKG.

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