Learning Together, Teaching Together

Every teacher remembers their first year — the steep learning curve, the trial and error, the question of whether they’re really ready. At St. Andrew’s, our Teaching Fellows Program ensures no one faces that challenge alone. When first grade teacher Shivani Bathija stepped into her classroom, she wasn’t starting from scratch — she had a mentor by her side. That support came through our one-year fellowship designed to give new educators the tools, confidence and community to thrive. 

 

“The program is designed specifically for those who come from diverse backgrounds who are trying to break into independent school education, which really spoke with me,” said Bathija.

 

Through the Teaching Fellows Program, new and early-career educators are paired with experienced mentors, given real classroom responsibility and welcomed into a community that helps them grow both as teachers and leaders.

 

 

Bathija first learned about St. Andrew’s Teaching Fellows Program in the 2022-2023 school year in her role as a substitute teacher and Beyond the Classroom (BTC) counselor. 

 

“I spent a lot of time in kindergarten that year, where I met one of the fellows who told me about the program!” she said. “I liked that fellows were trusted with a lot of responsibility and were given real classroom experience, while being compensated at the professional level. I also enjoyed the fact that fellows were treated as every other faculty member, and expected to engage in all teaching areas, such as conferences and report cards.” 

 

Bathija applied and was accepted into St. Andrew’s Teaching Fellows Program and jumped into the program feet first where she was  paired with seasoned first grade teacher Michelle Van Rooyen. 

 

“The mentorship experience was awesome and the best thing about the program, for me,” said Bathija.  “My mentor had experience being a fellow herself at a different school, so she came with knowledge of what makes a mentorship work.” 

 

What’s more, Bathija met with her mentor several times each week to talk through lesson plans, discuss recent observations, and goals. But it wasn’t just Bathija’s cohort of fellows and her mentor that supported Bathija  in her first year teaching at the Lower School.

 

“I not only had my mentor, but the entire first grade team was so ready to take me in and show me the ropes,” she said. “I found teaching styles and lessons that resonated with me, I confirmed with myself that early childhood education is where I belong, and learned from so many good and bad days. I found out that I like creating my own worksheets and activities digitally, and that's a skill I play to in my teaching today. I also found that I really enjoy both whole group and small group instruction, and the experience I gained from that is so valuable in my role today as the first grade dynamic teacher!” 

 

New to St. Andrew’s this fall, Upper School Science Teaching Fellow Abeni Brown has already found the mentorship experience and community support invaluable. Brown’s experience teaching public school classes through Stephen F. Austin State University’s Jacksteach program sparked a curiosity to learn more about independent schools. 

 

“Every faculty member that I have met has introduced themselves and offered to help me,” Brown said. “I feel comfortable to ask questions and be as fully involved as a teacher here.” 

 

 

Paired with the mentorship and hands-on classroom experience, St. Andrew’s Teaching Fellows Program also includes a structured, multi-phase progression of seminars spaced throughout the academic year. Regular seminars present teaching fundamentals to the cohort of fellows, along with sharing leadership insights from Division Heads and discussing case study examples in a supportive environment designed to develop teachers. 

 

“The fellows program has grown into a nimble, well connected program over the past three years,”  said Gustavo Garza, Teaching Fellows Co-Coordinator and Upper School History Teacher.  “We’re giving beginning teachers the scaffolding to be successful not only at St. Andrew's but at any independent school across the country — all within a supportive community.” 

 

At the heart of the program, said Garza, is embedding a culture of growth and professional development in the Teaching Fellows Program that reinforces and reflects St. Andrew’s School values, priorities and its generous community. 

 

“I hope fellows take away a strong understanding of an independent school experience and of the educator they want to become,” said Teaching Fellows Co-Coordinator and Lower School Counselor, Carla Childs. 

 

 

Not only do fellows gain knowledge and experience from the year-long program, they also contribute to St. Andrew’s culture and growth. 

 

“The fellows bring fresh ideas and diverse perspectives,” said Childs, noting that the program benefits extend well beyond the fellows. 

 

“Being a mentor is incredibly rewarding,” she continued. “It was a unique opportunity to directly contribute to the growth of someone else while also reflecting on my own teaching practices.” 

 

The Teaching Fellows Program first began as the brain child of former Assistant Head of School, Kama Bruce, who connected Carla Childs to the burgeoning program. 

 

“I served as a mentor for Kailee Norman in the inaugural year of the program,” said Childs, noting that the program has grown in many ways since year one. “We have enhanced our professional development curriculum, expanded the scope of mentorship, and created a stronger, more intentional support network for our fellows.” 

 

Now in its fourth year, the program has continued to grow and evolved under the leadership of Assistant Head of School, Alice Nezzer. Every fall, Garza, Childs and Nezzer partner across divisions with teachers and school leaders to hone the program to equip fellows with the hands-on experience and relationships necessary to thrive as an educator, and also to reflect as a cohort on the purpose-driven, but non-essential components teaching — such as discussing what it means to be an Episcopal School, learning the signs and signals of a healthy institution and interrogating their priorities and values as educators. 

 

“My hope is that we continue to keep in touch with TFP alums and we grow to be a well-known fellows program amongst the independent school network,” said Childs. 

 

Looking ahead, Garza, Childs and Nezzer continue to strengthen ties and meet future and aspiring educators studying at local institutions such as Huston-Tillotson, The University of Texas, St. Edwards and Texas State University. Beyond Central Texas, they see St. Andrew’s Teaching Fellows Program as a part of the larger fellows movement gaining momentum in independent schools across the U.S. 

 

“I was so fortunate that I was able to attend the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) in St. Louis during my fellowship year,” said Bathija. “I met so many teachers from a similar background to my own as well as incredibly different, and I'm still in a group chat with my affinity group from that conference. I also attended all of the same professional development that my mentor did during the school year, as well as additional seminars specifically for the other fellows and led by Carla and Gustavo.”  

 

This connection and networking not only supports current fellows and nurtures recruiting, it also connects the St. Andrew’s faculty more broadly and underpins a thriving culture of professional development and continuous growth. 

 

“I was a fellow in the program's second year of existence, and it's been such a pleasure to watch it grow,” said Bathija. “I'm so lucky that there was a place for me to continue at SAS after my fellowship year was over, as this is such an amazing and welcoming community. I cannot wait to watch new fellows flourish in their positions, and am so thankful for the experience I had two years ago!