COLLEAGUES
“I think that in every school I've taught at I've had really great colleagues on my grade level team. I think that's a big part of it. Even the school that I didn't like and chose to leave, that was something I did have. And I think co-teaching—you just have a built-in person who's there with you all the time and hopefully youhave a good relationship with them, which I have been lucky with, I think.”
“I think I've just had really good great teams. I think sometimes it still feels (…) that there's not a ton of cross-school collaboration or time to talk. You know, everybody has different prep periods and different lunches and you might see somebody in passing, but it's not a lot of time to stop and talk. But I think having the grade level colleagues who have the same prep and lunch as me has been enough.”
“Great colleagues (…) have the same priorities as me, or at least want to work on the same kinds of things. I think I've had great colleagues because they also come with ideas that they're excited about. It's not just me and we talk together and try something versus having colleagues who (…) just want to be in their own classroom.”
“I've also largely worked with people who are a similar age to me (….) That's certainly not necessary, but I think kind of being in the same time of life is helpful in some ways.”
SUPPORTIVE PRINCIPAL
“And my principal (…) Her door is literally almost always open. She was really helpful especially my first year here, when I needed more support with how to answer a parent email or what to do about the situation that happened in the classroom today. She is really good about helping teachers talk through what they need in those situations. So there's that kind of support there.”