Double the Support, Double the Impact: Mentoring Non-Certified Teachers and Coaches

By Jessica Carmean, Master Teacher, Jefferson Parish Schools, Louisiana

Jessica Carmean has been an educator in Jefferson Parish Schools for 11 years. For the past five years, Carmean has been a Master Teacher at Bissonet Plaza School. She has also led professional development as a Content Leader Fellow in ELA and Math, fostered school improvement on the Instructional Leadership Team, partnered with NIET for a two-year Literacy Cohort Initiative in Jefferson Parish, and participated in Jefferson Parish’s aspiring leaders program called “Operation LEAD.” Read more about her selection as an NIET Fellow here.

It was the first day of school in Jefferson Parish, and it arrived like a whirlwind for Ms. Lombard. She stood in front of her first-grade classroom - a room full of eager eyes and backpacks too big for their owners. The hum of excitement from the students contrasted sharply with the quiet storm of uncertainty swirling in her mind. She was a first-year, non-certified teacher with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies who used to work at the local mall. As much as she had anticipated, prepared, and dreamed of being a teacher, nothing could fully equip her for the reality of standing at the front of her classroom. Her hands trembled slightly as she took attendance, acutely aware of her name and title atop the page: Teacher. After taking attendance, her mind raced - “Where do I even begin?” she thought. 

Soon enough, the school year began unfolding in front of her. She found herself clutching a high-quality instructional material (HQIM) manual. She smiled through her nerves, nodding whenever she was asked questions she did not quite have the answers to. She tried to project confidence while asking herself the same questions that even seasoned educators continue to ask: Was she doing this right? Was she teaching the way her students deserved? She realized something important: the passion she had for teaching was critical, but it could only go so far. She needed guidance, feedback, and mentorship to truly grow.

Ms. Lombard was not alone. She was one of 13 teachers on our campus this year who required new teacher support due to being a 0-3 year teacher, a non-certified teacher, or an alternatively certified teacher. All of these educators stepped into this profession with hope and excitement, while also coming to realize there was so much more to learn. Luckily, with the longstanding partnership between Jefferson Parish Schools and the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), new and non-certified teachers are supported every step of the way with the structure of teacher leaders.

As a Master Teacher, I learned how to rise to the challenge of supporting this unique group of teachers, instructionally, pedagogically, and emotionally. The work of teacher leaders goes beyond making sure new teachers survive; rather, it is intentional about making sure new educators thrive in their first few years and beyond.

Building Capacity With Coaches

Non certified teachers are quickly immersed in a world of educational lingo and jargon - such as “learning targets,” scaffolding,” “academic feedback,” and “differentiation.” With no practicum experience, there was no educational “mental velcro” for new educators like Ms. Lombard to stick this new knowledge to. When teacher leaders know how to engage new educators and encourage reflection in their cluster meetings, it becomes clear when their teachers need more support, in the form of quiet, doe-eyed nodding. As a coach, it is then that we know it is time to change course: With the capacity and resources at hand, how could this be done? 

Building capacity and leaning on the leadership of others was key. In Jefferson Parish, teachers are part of a leadership pipeline, which includes a role known as Teacher Leader Fellows (TLFs). TLFs are trained through a partnership with Jefferson Parish and NIET, equipping effective educators with the skills, support, and recognition to grow as instructional leaders. Most TLFs are part of their ILT and conduct coaching cycles. In Louisiana, TLFs are also guided to become certified state mentors and can earn a LDOE Mentor Credential in addition to their teaching certificate. The program helps distribute leadership among educators, growing district and schoolwide collaboration, and strengthening student outcomes. I turned to Mrs. Dauterive, a TLF on my campus who was also the school librarian and a previous first-grade teacher. To maximize coaching needs across campus, it was vital to invest in her development so that we could “spread the wealth” to more teachers across the school. 

To leverage my coach, Mrs. Dauterive, I had to elevate her content knowledge as well and ensure our coaching as a team was set up to help Ms. Lombard succeed. Ms. Dauterive was a veteran teacher, but she needed to be brought up to speed with high-quality instructional materials (HQIM was implemented in our district after she transitioned out of the classroom 10 years ago). Ms. Dauterive also needed coaching around our HQIM, Core Knowledge Language Arts Knowledge (CKLA). Before we ever coached the non-certified teacher, my TLF and I analyzed Ms. Lombard’s lesson plans; we unpacked the standards, skills, and key ideas; we completed end-of-unit tasks; and we defined what mastery would look like for the next day’s lesson. As leaders, we had to have clarity: we needed to live in the intersection between standards, curricular materials, pedagogy, and the intentionality of the HQIM. 

Over the course of two weeks, I coached my coach, and together we supported Ms. Lombard in numerous ways. The results began to show.

Spreading Expertise Through Distributed Leadership

Using NIET’s Teacher Learning Progression on Curriculum, NIET’s Louisiana Educator Rubric (LER), and data from walkthroughs, my coach and I determined that our teacher needed support in the “Content and Standards (The “What”), Basic Instruction (The “Why”), and Pedagogy (The “How”) portions of the Progression on Curriculum. Deepening teacher content knowledge would quickly impact Ms. Lombard’s effectiveness in the classroom. For traditional teachers, building content knowledge naturally occurs over time, but for non-certified teachers, this process can take much longer. It is also known that teacher attrition rates among non-certified teachers are significantly higher than those of their traditionally certified counterparts. With no time to waste, accelerating the process of building content knowledge through coaching and support was our mission.

At the beginning of our two-week observation, we noted that Ms. Lombard was unable to finish the lesson in the allotted time, with the last 20-25 minutes of the lesson not occurring. The portion of the lesson consistently being skipped was also the portion where students were supposed to apply their learning and show mastery of the lesson. Ms. Dauterive, Ms. Lombard, and I began our coaching sessions by collaboratively unpacking the unit overview, lesson goals, standards, and formative assessments. We practiced reading the read-alouds with intentionality and spirit. 

The next day, Ms. Dauterive and I conducted a walkthrough and provided immediate feedback directly in the classroom. Ms. Lombard started and ended on time, read the lesson with purpose, and was able to get to the application portion of the lesson. Small wins led to bigger wins: more coaching cycles, targeted support through cluster, and other leaders, like ESL coaches and teachers, used their expertise to support her. This built up over time and led to Ms. Lombard leading her class with efficiency and confidence. As a result, Ms. Lombard saw her percentage of students performing “well above” proficient grow from 17% at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year to 50% by the end of the year, according to the DIBELS assessment. 

When schools build the capacity of their educators and provide intentional and robust structures for teacher leaders to lean on other levels of leadership, it creates positive and effective learning environments for new educators when they need it most. Implementing distributed leadership and layered levels of support with NIET structures has propelled Jefferson Parish’s ability to bring the best, most updated, and agile coaching to the table, benefiting both teachers and coaches in their careers.

Maximizing Growth for All

As a Master Teacher, seeing the value and growth that comes with working with educators is powerful. As coaching efforts expanded, teachers were now thriving, students were receiving high-quality instruction, and coaches spread their expertise to multiple educators, leading to rapid success. Through strategic partnerships with NIET, we have processes and systems in place that elevate both mentors and non-certified teachers. This continuous cycle of learning strengthens not just individual classrooms but the entire school community.

Supporting new teachers - certified or not - requires a collective effort. It is not the responsibility of a single coach or administrator but of an entire community of educators dedicated to mentorship, modeling, and feedback. Well-trained mentors play a critical role, not only by sharing content expertise but also by building relationships and fostering reflective practices that help new teachers develop confidence in their roles. By empowering experienced educators as leaders and providing structured support for those entering the profession, we create an environment where both teachers and students thrive.

Coaching is not about fixing what is broken - it is about uplifting, believing, supporting, and guiding educators toward success. By building the capacity of others, we create a ripple effect that strengthens the entire school and its students. In her first year, Ms. Lombard was supported through teacher leadership to impact her first class of 21 students. With the continued development and coaching she will receive, many future students will thrive as a result of her teaching. When we invest in new teachers, we invest in the future of education - and when we double the support, we double the impact.