The Present Teacher Blog

Learn the systems to confidently leave at contract time so you can thrive in and out of the classroom.

You're ready to start off your first year as a teacher but as you're worried about what education has turned into. I'll be diving into how to not just get hired by ANY district but how to confidently get hired by the RIGHT district.

How to Choose the Right School District to Apply to as a First-Year Teacher teacher interview May 27, 2025

If you’ve ever watched a teacher leave the profession early and thought, “How can I prevent that from happening to me?”—you’re not alone.

One of the biggest factors that determines whether a new teac...

You just started your first teacher interview and you get the dreaded question 'What is your greatest weakness as a teacher?' I am sharing exactly what districts are looking for when they ask this question and how to answer confidently in a way that affirms to the district you are the perfect fit.

How to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Weakness?” in a Teacher Interview (Without Undermining Yourself) teacher interview May 27, 2025

In 2018, I was applying for my very first teaching position. I had my degree, my student teaching experience, and my heart completely set on landing the right job.

But there was one major problem—I h...

There are thousands of possible teacher interview questions they could ask you. And instead of practicing ALL of them, it's important to use a framework to answer ANY question with confidence. Today, I'm diving into my framework to answer any teacher interview question with ease and confidence.

How to Answer Tough Teacher Interview Questions Without Freezing Up teacher interview May 27, 2025

During a recent coaching session, I was working with a first-year teacher who was looking for her first teaching position. The school year had already started, and she was feeling the pressure. Her bi...

You're a first-year teacher or new teacher who just got told you are being non-renewed for next year. I know that right now can be extremely high with emotions. As someone was has coached hundreds of new teachers around the world, I know how scary it can be to find out you don't have a position for next year. That's why this week I'm diving into the top strategies for new and first-year teachers to take who have been non-renewed. As someone who has several clients who have been non-renewed one year to having lasting and thriving careers in the profession, I dive into the top next steps for someone to take who wants to continue their teaching career. We'll be diving into what to do the day you find out you're non-renewed, how to find a different position, and what to say during the interview process if you have been non-renewed. If it's possible for the teachers I've worked with, it's possible for you too. This doesn't define you as a teacher. You've got this!

What To Do If You’re Non-Renewed as a New Teacher (And How to Bounce Back Stronger) teacher interview Apr 27, 2025

Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching new and first-year teachers from all over the world to land their first—or next—teaching position. And one experience I see more often than ...

When I applied for my first teaching position, I was TERRIFIED districts wouldn't take me seriously because I was only 21 years old. I had just graduated with my masters, and I had wanted to teach since I was 5 years old. Fast forward to Spring of 2018, I flew from Oregon to New Mexico for two different job interviews. Both of which regard me to teach a demo lesson. I turned my biggest weakness as a teacher into my biggest strength. I did TWO interviews on the same day and BOTH of them offered me the teaching position DURING the interview. Here's a breakdown of all the steps and teacher interview strategies I took to get there.

How I Landed My First Teaching Position: My Interview Story teacher interview Apr 20, 2025

When I graduated, I was terrified no one would take me seriously.

At just 20 years old—with a master’s degree in hand—I felt like districts would brush me off because of my age. I didn’t look like th...

You just a call for your first or next teacher interview, and they let you know that they want you to teach a demo lesson. You're wondering what on earth do I teach? How do I teach a demo lesson for a teacher interview? And what are some common mistakes teachers make during demo lessons? Today we are diving into the top mistakes I see teachers make while teaching a demo lesson. We will dive into everything from lesson plan mistakes, classroom management mistakes, and mistakes you could be making while preparing for your demo lesson. As someone who had two interviews the same day for two different schools that required a demo lesson, I understand how overwhelming it can be to teach at a school and for a classroom you've never been to. But after both interviews and demo lessons, I was offered the teaching position DURING my interviews. Today, I am sharing some of my top strategies I have shared with my coaching clients to help them confidently show up for their teacher interview.

What NOT to Do During a Teacher Demo Lesson: 7 Critical Mistakes to Avoid teacher interview Apr 14, 2025

Landing your dream teaching job often requires a teacher demo lesson—and let’s face it, that can be nerve-wracking. When I was a student teacher, I had to teach several demo lessons as part of my inte...

I am diving into my top classroom management strategies for new teachers who are ready to run the classroom of their dreams WITHOUT feeling like they have to be mean. We'll be diving into the importance of boundaries, how to be consistent with them, how to be 'nice' without letting your students walk all over you, and how you can find classroom management strategies that actually work for you and your unique classroom.

How to Stop Feeling Like a 'Mean Teacher' When Holding Students Accountable classroom management Mar 24, 2025

Have you ever felt like the ‘mean teacher’ for simply holding your students accountable?

I remember during my student teaching, I encountered some truly wonderful teachers who created a warm and enga...

Have you been struggling with disruptive behaviors lately and you're wondering how you can finally transform the way you manage your classroom? In this week's content I dive into the top 3 mindset shifts I made as a new teacher that transformed my teaching experience from constantly having to stop my teaching to address disruptive behavior, to being asked to train teachers around the world on classroom management. This week we dive into topics like how to go from reacting to disruptions in the classroom to preventing them. We also talk about which classroom management strategies to focus on that will actually work long term.

The 3 Biggest Mindset Shifts That Transformed My Classroom Management Mar 24, 2025

During my first year of teaching, I had the worst-behaved class in the entire school. I was told I was "too nice" and that my students wouldn’t take me seriously. I struggled daily with classroom mana...

When I first came up with the desire to leave at contract time as a new teacher I felt incredibly guilty. I thought that in order to be a good teacher I had to work a lot of hours and really hard. But over the years I have found systems that have worked for me and the teachers that I coach to consistently get us out the door WHILE being weeks ahead in lesson planning and prepping. Well today I am diving into my top reasons why leaving at contract time makes you a better teacher. PLUS I am diving into the strategies my clients and I use to consistently get out the door work-free WITHOUT feeling guilty. Get a peek behind-the-scenes on the weekly schedule I use, the mindset shifts I've made, which teacher tasks I prioritize on a weekly basis, the systems I use to get weeks ahead, the boundaries I set, and the reminders I give myself that have allowed me to get out the door around contract time for the past 5 years.

Why Leaving at Contract Time Makes You a Better Teacher (and How to Do It Guilt-Free) teacher time management Mar 02, 2025

Earlier this month, I shared why overworking doesn’t make you a good teacher. Today, I want to take that conversation further and explain why leaving at contract time actually makes you a better teach...

Today I am diving into what I do the first 15-minutes I come into school and what I do the last 15-minutes after school that has allowed me to consistently leave close to contract time for the past 5 years. Get a sneak peek on which administrative tasks I do daily, how I respond to emails, and how I prep for tomorrow's lesson in a way that allows me to show up confident and with a positive attitude each morning.

Your First 15 Minutes & Last 15 Minutes: How to Structure Your Day to Leave at Contract Time teacher time management Feb 23, 2025

As teachers, we know how chaotic our days can get—whether it's the morning rush or the desire to finish up at contract time. But what if you could use just 15 minutes at both the beginning and end of ...

One of the top questions I get asked is 'how do I automate my classroom?' Well today I'm talking about one of the MAIN strategies I myself and the teachers I have coached have used to make our classrooms run on autopilot. And that is utilizing classroom routines. Classroom routines is one of my top strategies to consistently leaving at contract time as a new or first-year teacher. Inside this video we are diving into which classroom routines I set up in my classroom and how you can do the same. Making consistently leaving work on time in the first few years of your teaching career a breeze. We'll be talking about classroom routines like my classroom end-of-the-day procedure, what my weekly schedule looks like during my prep, how I organize my materials and how I KEEP things organized on a daily basis, what my coming in and leaving for the day routine looks like, and what I schedule out throughout the week to keep my life easier.

The Secret to Leaving at Contract Time: Setting Up Classroom Routines that Run Themselves teacher time management Feb 16, 2025

As a teacher, the feeling of finishing the day and heading out the door at contract time can often feel like a distant dream. Between student dismissal, cleaning up, grading, and prepping for tomorrow...

It's easy to believe that as a new or first-year teacher you have to work hours and hours after contract time to be a good teacher. But the truth is, that's simply not true. Today we are diving into the top reasons WHY overworking won't make you a better teacher. Plus we dive into teacher time management strategies on what you can do instead. We cover strategies like preventing teacher burnout by getting clear on your definition of what a good teacher is and how to take action once you set a boundary in the classroom.

Why Overworking Won't Make You a Better Teacher—And What to Do Instead teacher time management Feb 12, 2025

As teachers, we often feel like we have to put in extra hours to be effective. Staying late, grading until midnight, and spending weekends lesson planning can feel like the price we pay for being "goo...

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