Second-year Teachers Face Challenges, Work with Leesville

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Courtesy of CFNC

There are over 120 teachers at Leesville, six of these entering only their second year of teaching: Ms. Abbott, Mr. McLeod, Ms. Robinson, Ms. Riley, Ms. Meeks and Ms. Hinnant

Courtesy of CFNC
Courtesy of CFNC

Courtesy of CFNC

According to a new study from the National Education Association, half of teachers are more than likely to quit within their first five years of teaching.

Ms. Robinson and Ms. Riley, two Leesville teachers, are determined to not fall into this statistic. “I want to be a teacher, so I see myself doing this for a long time,” said Ms. Robinson.

Ms. Riley agreed. “ I really love teaching even though kids can be crazy sometimes. It’s fun.”

Most times teachers leave their jobs for the low pay, work load or the pressure of teaching to the test. North Carolina has a 71.1% graduation rate, and some people blame this low number on “teaching the test.”

“The emphasis on standardized testing has caused a lot of school systems to suffer,” said Ms. Robinson.

The Leesville family has helped teachers adjust.

“My colleagues in my department provide me support with the different policies and procedures that we have to follow. I meet weekly with Ms. Floyd who is my mentor. She listens and gives me advice for different things that I experience,” said Ms. Hinnant, another second year teacher.

Ms. Riley concurs. “It [Leesville] has been very supportive. We meet as a group to discuss individual units and plans for those lessons.  I feel supported all around; if I have an issue with a parent, there are teachers and administrators that back me up.”

With the overall feeling of support many teachers account that it would have been harder to adjust at other schools. “Not all schools support their new teachers like LRHS. My department was very friendly and easy to transition into being a part of,” said Ms. Riley.

Leesville Road is privileged to have second year teachers who are determined to not fall into the “dropout statistic.”

2 COMMENTS

  1. Is your statistic correct on the drop out rate being 71.1%? That means only 29% of NC students actually graduate and that seems really low. If that’s correct, then NC has a lot bigger problems than I thought.

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