Texas Master Teacher Featured by Education Week: How We’re Keeping Teachers

Photo credit: Natalie Martinez, Director of Communications, Somerset Independent School District

Last week, Education Week hosted a panel with Texas Public Radio to discuss teacher morale and retention. Elizabeth Sanchez, Executive Master Teacher at Somerset Independent School District, was one of five speakers sharing insights on the topic. On the panel, she described how Somerset ISD is retaining teachers through a system of support led by teacher leaders. Somerset’s partner in this work is NIET, a national nonprofit that helps districts to build capacity within their team to create sustainable systems of teacher feedback and support.

“I really hope the audience understood the impact and level of support that the NIET structure provides our new teachers, as well as with new implementations,” Sanchez shared when we followed up with her post-discussion. “The walkthroughs, observations, and Clusters (Somerset’s weekly professional learning) we are able to provide all of our teachers means they are never alone as they implement new initiatives, begin their teaching career, or work through refinement areas.”

Sanchez described how teacher leaders bring a more collaborative approach to instruction that provides better support for teachers who are feeling overwhelmed, especially new teachers. She described the impact of two different teacher leadership roles, Master and Mentor Teachers, at Somerset as “relational” as they better understand the individual teacher and their needs. “Our Master Teachers have embedded themselves as co-teachers and co-supporters of multiple classrooms, not only to support our new or struggling teachers, but to collect true data as we prepare for our next learning cycle.”

Read more about the panel on Education Week here.