Good to Great Teachers
Are you an early-career teacher who's starting to feel more confident in the classroom and ready to take those next steps in growing as a professional?
The South Dakota Department of Education is launching Good to Great Teachers, a mentoring program aimed at empowering teachers in years 3-5 of their career by increasing teacher effectiveness and fostering self-efficacy.
Experienced educators will guide small cohorts of participants through reflective practices to increase confidence in four key areas:
- Communication skills
- Reflective practice
- Classroom management
- Student engagement

2022 Regional Teachers of the Year
Participants will be placed in one of five regional cohorts of 20-25 teachers. The program will consist of workshops, classroom observations, and reflection. Participants will be reimbursed travel expenses as well as substitute reimbursement for all in-person workshops.
Workshops (21 hours) | Classroom Observations (6 hours) |
Video & Reflection (6 hours) | Webinars (8 hours) |
---|---|---|---|
Oct. 27, Chamberlain 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (CT) |
Participants will use provided observation forms to conduct four one-hour in-person observations of other classroom teachers.
Observations can be made in-district or outside of district. Observations and reflections due by March 15. |
Participants will be provided Swivl devices to record three videos of their teaching.
November: The first video will focus on the teacher, for reflection on words, directions, guiding questions, etc. January: The second video will focus on students for reflection on student engagement - who was on task/who wasn't, at what times in the lesson students were engaged. April: Participants can choose the focus of the third video (self or students). Recordings are for self-reflection only. They will not be shared with program facilitators or other participants. |
Regional Teachers of the Year will facilitate virtual small group discussion/reflection webinars (2 hours each):
November: Reflect on first video January: Reflect on second video March: Discuss classroom observations April: Discuss and reevaluate participant goals |
Questions? Email Kelly.Royer@state.sd.us, Hope.Paulson@state.sd.us, or Amanda.Hargreaves@state.sd.us.