Kentwood —Debbie Schuitema recently sat down with Hamilton Elementary third-grade teacher Danielle Shaw to talk about the school’s reading curriculum and field a few questions.
During the comfortable back-and-forth chat, Schuitema answered questions, offered advice and helped Shaw find more resources.
“It’s really beneficial working with Debbie,” said Shaw. “If I have a general question that I want feedback on, Debbie is always open to having these conversations, and she helps explore all the answers. She’s easy to talk to — just (for me) to ask ‘How am I doing? ‘Am I doing this right?’”
Supporting teachers is Schuitema’s main role as director of new teacher development & curriculum in Kentwood Public Schools. She sees the opportunity to help them grow in their craft and profession as a way to have a positive impact district-wide.
‘If everyone were to talk to Debbie at least once a day, it would surely keep the burnout away.’
— Elijah Lewis, Valleywood Middle School teacher
“Any and every staff member makes such a difference and impact in the lives of our students and our future leaders in the world,” she said. “Being a part of helping someone else, who has that kind of an impact, reach their full potential and watch them just thrive — how lucky am I?”
Schuitema was hired in 2022 specifically to foster teachers, new and experienced, grow the teacher pipeline and keep them in KPS for decades to come. She works in some capacity with all 670 district staff members, but she devotes most of her energy to the 82 teachers in the first three years, which is 14% of the teaching staff
As their go-to person, she answers questions, offers assistance, connects them with resources, writes grants for PD opportunities and encourages them to grow as leaders in the classroom and into other district roles.
“Debbie is one of the most passionate and dedicated educators I’ve had the privilege of working alongside,” said Sunil Joy, executive director of strategy and innovation. “She leads with heart, purpose and an unwavering commitment not just to our educators, but to students, families and our entire Kentwood community. KPS is better because of her.”
During a nationwide teacher shortage when fewer people are going into teaching, it’s proactive work to ensure classrooms are staffed with talented, passionate educators.
“Research is clear: Teacher quality is the No. 1 in-school factor for influencing student achievement,” Joy said.
What Do They Need?
Schuitema said she is always working to identify teacher’s needs, from everyday essentials to how to achieve their personal long-term goals.
“Who are the people, who are the resources and what is the training that everyone needs?” she said. “Being new, you need a lot of support no matter what it is: if you are (starting in a different) district, if you are new to the profession, if you are changing a grade level.
Support begins on Day One, Schuitema said. Teachers are assigned mentors through the district’s mentor program, which currently includes 218 mentor/mentee pairs. Instructional coaches work alongside them in each school. A group called the New Teacher Community meets monthly, and teachers receive training focused on their own needs and interests.
“All these layers working together is a part of my work,” she said.
New teachers said they appreciate having the support person in a large district that can be overwhelming to navigate.
“She’s not only a great resource, but for her to be one of the first people that we see coming into the district ,she really exemplifies what it truly means to be a Kentwood Public Schools employee,” said Elijah Lewis, who is in his second year teaching at Valleywood Middle School. “She is a warm-hearted person who really is a burst of energy for new staff coming. If everyone were to talk to Debbie at least once a day, it would surely keep the burnout away.”
“Debbie is absolutely the best teacher supporter I’ve ever encountered,” added Ikram Ibrahim, a first-year teacher at Challenger. “She is so down to earth, approachable and always willing to help. During my first year of teaching, she has supported me in so many ways. She checks in with me regularly — almost every month — to see how things are going and to make sure I have everything I need. She always reassures me that if I need help with anything, I can reach out to her.”
Schuitema also supports instruction at a district level, looking at what tools teachers have and what more they need. In a large district like Kentwood, there’s a lot to know, from how to do tasks like tracking attendance or requesting a substitute teacher to understanding culture in the most diverse district in Michigan.
Questions she ponders: “Do we have the right resources? What do our assessments look like? What does instruction look like? What else might be needed so our students grow and thrive and so teachers feel confident in their instruction?”
Schuitema spent two decades in education before coming to KPS, first as a middle-school math teacher in North Carolina and then a teacher at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School. She then served as a math coach in Godfrey Lee Public Schools for 10 years, and a curriculum director for one year at Hope Academy before the opportunity to start in the brand-new position at KPS.
It was one she couldn’t turn down, she said.
“What a cool opportunity to be a part of something new and to be in a district like Kentwood that is just an incredible place; there’s nothing else like it. It’s resource-rich in both people, community and facilities.”
Cultivating Future Teachers
When it comes to planning for future KPS teachers, Schuitema is at the helm of a lot of the work.
KPS pulls from their own non-teaching staff, such as paraprofessionals, as prospective teachers, offering a non-traditional pathway to becoming certified in teaching through a grow-your-own program in partnership with Davenport University and Western Michigan University, Schuitema said. The district also partners with the regional West Michigan Teacher Collaborative to support staff who want to become teachers and current teachers in earning advanced endorsements.
Currently, 14 people are pursuing their initial teaching certification through the programs.
‘Who are the people, what are the resources and what is the training that everyone needs?’
— Debbie Schuitema, KPS director of new teacher development & curriculum
East Kentwood students also have the opportunity to learn about the profession through Educators Rising, a class for students interested in teaching. State grants have supported scholarships and tuition for students that complete the class. Last year, 14 students received scholarships, she said.
“(This year) the district hired two first-year teachers who had gone through the Ed Rising program to teach at East Kentwood,” Schuitema said. “We do have a number of students who are in Ed Rising right now who are like, ‘I am going to go into teaching, and I am going to come back to teach here.’”
She also taps the knowledge of teachers to improve support systems. Schuitema recently coordinated a group of 11 educators, several of whom are in TeachMichigan, a statewide initiative that invests in the retention, development and ideas of high-impact educators. She received a grant from TeachMichigan to fund a project focused on teacher empowerment.
The group took on the challenge of answering the question of how to better empower teachers, then narrowed down more than 100 ideas generated over the summer using design thinking to choose two pilot programs to implement in KPS. The project involved interviewing more than 40 teachers and people in other professions to learn more about when they felt invested in and developed as leaders.
The overall goal is for teachers to have space to think outside of the box and collaborate, she said.
“This is what we are hearing teachers are hungry for,” she explained. (So we ask), ‘What can we do about that and support teachers in this hunger?’ Because when we think about teacher retention, developing and growing people is a huge piece of that.”
Read more from Kentwood:
• Mentorship program creates district-wide support system
• Seven district teachers earn national board certification
