For those ending 2020 with an empty gas tank, please know that’s okay; a lot has been asked of you this year! Always remember that your hard work has impacted many young lives. 

Take time this holiday break to recharge and indulge in what gives you joy. Doing so will help you get back in the swing of things and give your students your all. To help you gear up for 2021, here are 12 pieces of wisdom from mentor teachers trained by our program who survived their own first year in the classroom and are coaching new teacher colleagues to thrive." 

Last month, we shared 45 of our candidates’ favorite online resources for teaching. The blog post received a great response, which tells us our community is curious and loves exploring resources. 

Luckily, our candidates gave us so many websites that we were able to gather 45 more online education resources for our community. We are thankful to our Alternate Route candidates for sharing the websites that help make them better educators and hope other educators find them useful as well. 

Preparing for edTPA is a big undertaking, but it is a necessary process for those with dreams of teaching. Alternate Route alum Julia Mills has put together multiple tips for those who need a little guidance throughout the process. Mills is an artist, writer and educator living in Southern New Jersey.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, educators have realized that sharing resources is more important than ever. Teachers across the globe are connecting virtually to share best practices and professional development resources. 

Sharing resources is important to education because it benefits everyone. Educators are introduced to new teaching methods and tools and students benefit by having an engaging educational experience.

Recently, we connected with many Alternate Route candidates on which websites they use for educators and why. Below are 46 go-to education resources for multiple subjects that come highly recommended.

October is LGBTQ+ History Month! In fact, the official establishment of LGBTQ+ History Month was actually founded by a history teacher in Missouri. Rodney Wilson was the first openly gay public school teacher in the state and chose October to represent LGBTQ+ history because the first and second LGBTQ+ marches on Washington happened during the month.