One of the saddest things about U.S. education is that the wisdom of our most successful teachers is lost when they retire. ~ John Dewey

With the creation of the Legacy Teacher Network, I am recommending a new stage of educational expertise be added to the current stages of pre-service and in-service education. This newly articulated vision called continuing service will expand the developmental continuum for teacher education and utilize retired educators serving as mentors to support the social and emotional development of beginning teachers.

What will make the biggest difference in improving schools is bolstering the skills and morale of those who are already on the job. ~ Gene Maeroff

We can meet the current challenges in education with thoughtful reflection, shared wisdom, conversations that promote well-being, and messages that inspire us to fully participate in our careers as educators.  Retaining high quality dedicated teachers is crucial to the success of our education system. Using our most successful teachers to support the well-being needs of our novices will make a difference in the induction of our most vulnerable teachers.

I invite school leaders who see the value of this idea to create Legacy Teacher Networks in their districts and pay it forward by using the untapped resources of our most successful teachers NOW. There is no time like the present to begin. Reach out to me if you if you need a push to get started.

This new mentoring role of retired “legacy” teachers in continuing service of the profession will not only support the next generation of teachers, it will support our next generation of students.

Sincerely,
Carol

Carol Pelletier Radford EdD
Legacy Teacher
Founder, Mentoring in Action
https://mentoringinaction.com/

Questions and Answers to Clarify Next Steps
What is the Legacy Teacher Network? The Legacy Teacher Network (LTN) is an idea inspired through Mentoring in Action’s Founder, Carol Pelletier Radford after reading the quote by John Dewey, “One of the saddest things about U.S. education is that the wisdom of our most successful teachers is lost when they retire.”

The idea to add continuing service to the developmental continuum after the pre-service and in-service stages would offer a place for retired teachers to continue to contribute to existing mentor programs offered by the district. The term Legacy Teacher was inspired because these volunteer teachers bring their legacy of experience with them to this role.
Who is a Legacy Teacher? A Legacy Teacher is a retired teacher volunteer who is still inspired to share successful practices with novice teachers in a conversational mentoring role.
What is the purpose and focus of the LTN? The purpose of the network is to acknowledge successful teachers as experienced wise sages who can be powerful influences on the success and retention of beginning teachers in the district.

The Legacy Teachers would focus mentoring conversations on teacher well-being and social and emotional development.  It is not a network using retired teachers for substitute teaching, coaching in the content areas, or paperwork. Conversations may be one-one with a struggling teacher, small groups, or as part of existing mentor training and induction programs.

Protocols and conversation starters are offered through Mentoring in Action https://mentoringinaction.com/ and are valuable tools for sparking conversations that support teacher well-being. This new book, When I Started Teaching I Wish I Had Known… Weekly Wisdom for Beginning Teachers and a recent book Teaching With Light: Ten Lessons for Finding Wisdom, Balance and Inspiration are inspirational guides to conversations that will help beginners understand how to sustain a career in teaching.
How do Legacy Teachers support the district? Legacy Teachers who join the Legacy Teacher Network will be recognized as continuing service teachers. They may participate by just posting one piece of advice on the district website that will be shared with beginning teachers, or they may wish to collaborate with the mentor leaders in the district to share more wisdom in a formal way at group meetings or one-one as needed. Members of the network are volunteers without compensation. Mentoring conversations are focused on teacher well-being, resilience, and ways to maintain balance will support teacher retention.
How does a district get started? District leaders and lead mentors share the continuing service concept with teachers who are planning to retire and invite them to join this district chapter of the Legacy Teacher Network.

Each teacher would be invited to submit a photo, short biography, and one piece of wisdom for beginning teachers. The goal is to share ideas that will support retention, inspire beginners, and share how to sustain a career in education. The district would introduce these teachers on the district home page and the mentor coordinators in the district would share the wisdom with the novices.
What else might a district do to support Legacy Teachers? The district could formally bring all the Legacy Teachers together for a “launch” meeting where they could all meet each other and share their positive perspectives of being teachers. Mentor leaders could share how the Legacy Teachers might be useful in supporting teachers in years 3-4 when mentoring is often not funded.

The focus of the mentoring support is to inspire the beginning teachers and to let them know that the challenges in teaching can be overcome with good advice and valuable wisdom from successful teachers.
NEW Q? A copy of the book, When I Started Teaching I Wish I Had Known… Weekly Wisdom for Beginning Teachers, could be given to each Legacy teacher and used as a guide for mentoring conversations.

A formal celebration of Legacy Teachers and their participation as mentors could be held at the end of the year to celebrate their participation to thank them for continuing to serve the district.

An article for the district newsletter and local paper would honor this new program and demonstrate the commitment of the district in supporting the induction of their novices while using the valuable wisdom of the retired teachers.