Written by: Lindsay Dzyngel, Cengage School Supplemental Team
Supporting New Educators Begins with the Right PD
Michigan schools are welcoming more early career educators than at any point in the last decade. State data shows the number of newly certified teachers reached a 10‑year high in 2024–25. At the same time, thousands of teachers have left Michigan’s public-school workforce — for principals, it’s a dual challenge of onboarding more new and provisional teachers while simultaneously working to retain them.
A Question for Principals: Imagine If…
What would it change for your district if every teacher—not just a select few—had unlimited, on‑demand access to your favorite PD experts research?
Imagine every educator exploring ASCD’s instructional strategies, Solution Tree’s PLC frameworks, Corwin’s visible learning research, ISTE’s digital learning guidance, ConnectEDD’s culture‑driven leadership tools, or FERE’s equity‑centered practices—all in one place, anywhere, and anytime they need it. This is the shift many principals are implementing — moving from PD that reaches a handful of teachers to PD that strengthens everyone.
What New Teachers Need Most Right Now
Across districts, early‑career educators face similar challenges:
- Mastering classroom management
- Differentiating for diverse learners
- Translating industry expertise into pedagogy (common in CTE roles)
- Balancing provisional‑license coursework with full‑time teaching
- Accessing support exactly when they need it
The core need: job‑embedded, practical, flexible professional learning aligned with real classroom demands.
High‑quality digital professional learning resources give teachers a way to access timely, meaningful support, build confidence, and grow their skills—without waiting for the next scheduled PD Day.
Why Michigan Principals Are Using a Central Virtual PD ‘Hub’
To support new teachers consistently, many principals are using a central, sustainable, scalable virtual PD ‘hub’ like Cengage Schools Gale’s Professional Learning Platform. This approach allows teachers to access short, targeted learning during planning periods, PLCs, after school, or whenever a classroom challenge appears.
With resources available in one place, principals can provide PD that is both personalized and districtwide, helping new teachers feel supported from day one – and this model helps leaders deliver meaningful, ongoing support without adding meetings, requiring substitutes, or overwhelming staff.
What Teachers ‘Click’ First: High‑Impact PD Titles
For New & Provisional Teachers
Teacher‑favorite titles that build confidence quickly:
- Supporting Beginning Teachers by Tina H. Boogren
- “When I Started Teaching, I Wish I Had Known…”: Weekly Wisdom for Beginning Teachers by Carol Pelletier Radford
- Engaging the Brain: 20 Unforgettable Strategies for Growing Dendrites and Accelerating Learning by Marcia L. Tate
- Real Talk About Classroom Management: 57 Best Practices That Work and Show You Believe in Your Students by Serena Pariser
- The Classroom Behavior Manual: How to Build Relationships with Students, Share Control, and Teach Positive Behaviors by Scott Ervin
- How Feedback Works: A Playbook by John Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey
For CTE & Industry‑Transition Teachers
These titles help strengthen pedagogy, assessment, and student engagement:
- The Tactical Teacher: Proven Strategies to Positively Influence Student Learning and Classroom Behavior by Dale Ripley
- The Design Thinking Classroom: Using Design Thinking to Reimagine the Role and Practice of Educators by David Jakes
- Teaching AI Literacy Across the Curriculum: A K-12 Handbook by Irina Lyublinskaya and Xiaoxue Du
Educators use this to translate real‑world expertise into high‑quality, student‑centered instruction—an increasingly important need across Michigan.
Why This Matters for Principals
One of its most powerful advantages is that it brings together the nation’s leading PD publishers like ASCD, ISTE, Corwin, Solution Tree, Dave Burgess, ConnectEDD, NCTE, NSTA, TCM, Impress, FERE all on one platform —so every educator can learn from the same research‑based experts their district already trusts.
A flexible virtual Gale PD hub provides:
- Stronger onboarding systems for new and provisional educators
- Pedagogical support for CTE teachers
- Consistent expectations and language for PLCs
- Year-round continuous PD without extra PD days
- Improved retention, because early‑career teachers feel supported and equipped
Leadership expert Jimmy Casas (ConnectEDD) describes the impact of ongoing, accessible PD this way:
“Large‑group, in‑person workshops can lead to major breakthroughs, but those breakthroughs only become ingrained in a teacher’s practice when they have the kind of ongoing, easy‑to‑access professional learning support that Gale eBooks offers.” [PRNewswire]
Bottom Line for Michigan Principals
Michigan is welcoming more new educators, but retention remains urgent. By providing accessible, high‑impact, job‑embedded PD resources from day one, principals can strengthen ongoing support, reduce burnout, and set early‑career teachers up for long‑term success.
Learn more about Cengage Schools Gale Professional Learning
Browse Cengage School’s College Career Readiness Catalog
The Interview Chair (Jimmy Casas Podcast)
Questions? Lindsay.dzyngel@cengage.com
