Summer Orientation for New Brooke Staff Every July, Brooke’s instructional leaders launch a two-week orientation for all new Brooke teachers. Morning academic sessions run from 8AM-12PM and are differentiated according to grade level and content area. Although the academic material covered in each session differs, the structure and goals are similar. Teachers pore over videos that exemplify instructional excellence and steep themselves into the content they will be teaching -- solving math problems, writing essays, discussing literature, norming student work and role playing lessons. By the end of orientation, our goal is that new hires possess a strong familiarity with Brooke’s elements of effective instruction and classroom management. Afternoon orientation sessions run from 1PM-4PM and focus on organizational culture, leadership and classroom management. During this time, teachers develop an understanding of Brooke’s core values (focus, integrity, respect, self-determination and teamwork) and use them to create a vision for the kind of teacher they want to be and the kind of people they want their students to become. They also learn concrete strategies for exercising the authority, clarity and consistency necessary to create happy, safe, structured classrooms. Professional literature is read and discussed throughout orientation. Readings always include growth mindset work by Carol Dweck, Eleanor Duckworth and Paul Tough. K-2 teachers read Making Sense of Phonics by Isabella Beck; 3-5 teachers read Knowing and Teaching Elementary Math, by Li Ping Ma; 6-8 math/science teachers read Van de Walle’s Teaching Student Centered Mathematics; and 6-8 ELA teachers read Focus, by Mike Schmoker, On Writing, by Stephen King, and Bringing Vocabulary to Life, by Isabella Beck. Professional conduct is taken seriously during orientation. New staff are expected to come prepared and to remain fully engaged each day. Because collaboration is such a vital part of Brooke’s success, individuals who do not meet expectations for professionalism are quickly provided with feedback. Coaching conversations are quite common during these two weeks, as it is extremely important to the leadership team that all new hires are a good fit for the students and organization. It is impossible to cover everything that makes Brooke “Brooke” in a two-week orientation. However, the trainings provide new staff with the basic tools necessary to establish warm, achievement-focused classroom cultures and to be productive, positive members of the Brooke community. Each year, in the spirit of growing best together, Brooke leaders reflect together on the quality of summer professional development and collect feedback from new teachers regarding its usefulness. Then, each spring, they work hard to put together a plan for the next orientation, always aiming to make it better than the last.
