Anna Catharine McLain
Mentorship for First-Year Teachers
Master of Education in Educational Administration & Supervision
Graduated, Fall 2024
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Anna Catharine Pittman grew up in Montgomery, Alabama alongside her three sisters. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Alabama before joining Teach For America in 2016, where she began her teaching career as a 1st grade teacher at Brooks Elementary in Duncan, Mississippi. For the past six years, she’s been an integral part of the team at Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School, where she currently serves as the school’s librarian and interventionist.
Project Feature: Mentorship for First-Year Teachers
Anna Catharine’s Social Entrepreneurship project is centered on a key insight from her own early teaching years: first-year teachers need more support. Too often, new educators are expected to navigate lesson planning, classroom management, school culture, and administrative systems on their own. This lack of support contributes to the high turnover rate among educators, with nearly half leaving the profession within their first five years—many citing burnout and isolation.
To change this narrative, Anna Catharine is piloting a mentorship program at Clarksdale Collegiate that pairs new teachers with experienced educators for regular, relationship-based support. Her goal is to provide new teachers with a trusted partner, helping them feel more confident, capable, and connected during that critical first year.
“When I started teaching, I was the only first-year teacher at my school. Having a mentor could’ve completely changed that experience.”
Project Highlights:
Research & Buy-in: Spoke one-on-one with over 20 educators to learn about their early teaching experiences and what kind of support would’ve helped most.
Pilot Planning: Collaborated with two assistant principals to design a structured support schedule for mentors and mentees.
Teacher Commitment: Identified three experienced teachers ready to mentor new colleagues during the 2025-26 school year.
Professional Development: Mentorship support will begin during summer PD, helping new hires set up classrooms and get acclimated before the school year starts.
Sustainability: Secured stipends for two mentor teachers and created plans to expand the program based on evaluation after Year 1.
Key Takeaways from the Fellowship:
Through her fellowship experience, Anna Catharine discovered that progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. Changing direction mid-project, dealing with personal challenges, and feeling unsure didn’t stop her from pressing forward. Support from her mentor, Harrison, and her fellow cohort members helped her overcome self-doubt and embrace the impact of small, steady steps.
“The mental barrier of thinking I’m not the right person to tackle a big problem just isn’t true. Doing something small, that I have time and energy for—that’s enough.”
Looking Ahead:
The mentorship program will officially launch this summer, with mentors guiding new teachers through their first weeks on campus and continuing regular support throughout the year. With the foundation in place, Anna Catharine and her team plan to evaluate the program next spring and expand it to serve even more new teachers in the future. The hope is to create a culture where mentorship is the norm—not the exception—and where new teachers are set up not just to survive, but to thrive.