In a short walk from this morning’s Fall Sports Assembly in the Barn to Mrs. Bettinelli’s music room in the Schoolhouse, the impact and importance of the Associate Teacher program at Belmont Day School were on full display. At the assembly, John O’Neill, our director of athletics and a former associate teacher at BDS, ran the show with the confidence and caring of an experienced educator. While in the music room, our six current associates were enthusiastic students, joyfully playing xylophones as an introduction to the pedagogy and approach of our masterful music teachers.
The legacy of the Associate Teacher program now extends across decades of helping to create generations of new teachers. Each fall, in partnership with Lesley University, we welcome preservice teachers into our school community and immerse them in the classroom while they earn their graduate degree in education and complete the requirements for Massachusetts state licensure. During their year-long apprenticeship, associates teach in two different classrooms, work closely with experienced teachers, and learn through direct feedback and reflection.
We currently offer three licensure paths–early childhood, elementary, and middle school humanities–and this year’s cohort is evenly split between the elementary and middle schools. Their placements this fall include second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade humanities, sixth grade social studies, and eighth grade English. Early in 2025, they’ll each start in a new classroom with new students and new mentors.
Since that nerve-wracking first day of school, our associates have gradually stepped through more challenging responsibilities that prepare them for the ultimate goal of managing their own classrooms. In the first weeks of school, they spend time observing the teaching and planning practices of their mentor teachers and supporting and building relationships with students as they learn. After that time observing, a shift occurs. Associates start planning and teaching individual lessons with the support of their mentor teachers. And now, our associates are taking over.
Takeovers allow the associates to be the classroom’s primary teacher. Typically, we start with a takeover morning and increase it to a takeover day. Eventually, associates take over for a whole week. This process is integral to the apprenticeship as associates apply what they learn about classroom management, teaching approaches, and student support and engagement. This exercise also builds confidence and helps associates develop their own identities as educators.
The Associate Teacher program is a gift to our entire school community. Associates bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to the classroom, as well as our fields and courts as athletics coaches. Their lessons are informed by current educational theories and practices from their graduate studies and can introduce creative and engaging approaches to teaching that complement their mentor teacher’s style.
As associates receive regular feedback and refine their teaching methods, the quality of instruction improves, directly benefiting the students they teach. From a student’s perspective, seeing an associate in the role of a learner as well as a teacher models the importance of lifelong learning, inspiring students to value education. Add to that, the partnership between the mentor teacher and the associate fosters a collaborative atmosphere and demonstrates the value of teamwork and effective communication in achieving goals.
As we continue to see the changes in education and the increasing demand for excellent teachers amidst a national teaching shortage, we are grateful for the program that provides us the privilege to contribute to the development of the new generation of teachers. And, because our associates will embark on their own journeys in schools near and far, we are especially proud of the positive impact that Belmont Day School has on students in classrooms across the country and beyond.
