Developing High-Quality Campus Plans for Teacher

Mentoring

NCLB Requirements for Plan: Teacher Mentoring

The plan shall—• Incorporate a teacher mentoring

program.

NCLB Act of 2001, Sec. 1116(b)(3)(A)(x)

Which statement has the most meaning for you?

• Veteran teachers are a wealth of information. (yellow)

• Beginning teachers have new, innovative strategies for the classroom. (dark blue)

• Beginning teachers need help from veteran teachers to make an impact in the classroom. (light blue)

• Beginning teachers may stay in the district longer if they are mentored by an experienced teacher. (black)

• A veteran teacher helping a beginning teacher will have a renewed teaching spirit that can increase student learning. (orange)

Kristina and David Scenarios

1.Read each scenario to yourself.

2. In your table group, discuss the following questions:

a) Which teacher is more likely to continue to teach a second year?

b) How are the beginning teachers’ mentoring programs alike or different?

c) What critical elements were put into place for the successful beginning teacher’s mentor program?

What Is Teacher Mentoring?

Mentoring is a systematic induction and learning process for new teachers, and it is a avenue for instructional renewal and improvement for experienced teachers and principals who serve as mentors.

Huling, L., & Resta, V. (2001, November). Teacher mentoring as professional development. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (ERIC No. ED460125).

What Do Teacher Mentors Do?

“A mentor serves as a role model, sponsor, encourager, counselor, and friend to a less skilled or less experienced person for the purposes of promoting the latter’s professional and/or personal development.”

Janas, M. (1996, Fall). Mentoring the mentor: A challenge for staff development. Journal of Staff Development, 17 (6), 2-5.

What Does Research Say about a Formal Mentoring Program?

A majority of those teachers who provided mentoring assistance at least once a week

reported substantial improvements in their own practice as a result of the mentoring relationship.

Huling, L., & Resta, V. (2001, November). Teacher mentoring as professional development. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. (ERIC No. ED460125).

What Does Research Say About a Formal Mentoring Program?

• New teachers who participate in mentoring programs are nearly twice as likely to stay in their profession.

• A mentoring program can cut the dropout rate from roughly 50% to 15% during the first 5 years of teaching.

Brown, S. (2004). Working models: Why mentoring programs may be the key to teacher retention. Retrieved on March 12, 2004, from http://www,acteonline.org/members/techniques/may03_story1.cfm.

What Does Research Say about a Formal Mentoring Program?

• Beginning teachers supported by the Texas Beginning Educator Certification (TxBESS) Initiative performed better in less time than without a support, especially in the area of instructional effectiveness, classroom management, etc….

Texas Center for Educational Research. (2000, Nov.). The cost of teacher turnover. Austin, TX: Author. Retrieved August 14, 2006, from http://www.tcer.org/tcer/publications/.

What strategy does the public believe has the greatest potential for improving schools?

1. Reducing class size

2. Recruiting and retaining better teachers

3. Requiring standardized tests for promotion

4. Giving greater control to the local level

National Staff Development Council. (2004). Revised standards for staff development. Retrieved February 28, 2004, from http://www.nsdc.org/standards/about/index.cfm.

What strategy do principals believe is most effective for recruiting and retaining teachers?

1. Providing financial incentives

2. Providing mentoring and on-going support for new teachers

3. Involving teachers in the creation of policies that they will be implementing

4. Providing career growth opportunities

National Staff Development Council. (2004). Revised standards for staff development. Retrieved February 28, 2004, from http://www.nsdc.org/standards/about/index.cfm

Can We Afford a “Sink or Swim” Approach?

• Nationally, 22% of all new teachers leave the profession in the first 3 years because of lack of professional support.

• After 5 years, nearly 50% of new teachers had left teaching in the state where they began teaching.

Southern Regional Education Board. (2001). Reduce your losses: Help new teachers become veteran teachers. Atlanta, GA: Author.

Can We Afford a “Sink or Swim” Approach?

• Teachers change jobs 4% more often than professionals in other careers.

National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse. (2003). A guide to today’s teacher recruitment challenge. Belmont, MA: Author. Retrieved September 29, 2003, from http://www.rnt.org.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2002). The teacher shortage: A case of wrong diagnosis and wrong prescription. NASSP Bulletin, 86, 16-31.

• More than 25% of teachers throughout the nation are age 50 or older.

What is the Cost of the Turnover of Texas Teachers?

• Costing taxpayers

• Student learning

What is the Cost of the Turnover of Texas Teachers?

“Texas schools spend between $329 million and $2.1 billion on recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers each year.” After three years, 43% of Texas beginning teachers had left the profession, with a turnover cost between $81 million and $480 million.”

Texas Center for Educational Research. (2000). The cost of teacher turnover.

Austin, Texas: Author. Retrieved August 14, 2006, from

http://www.tcer.org/tcer/publications/.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

What is the Cost of the Turnover of Texas Teachers?

Student Achievement

Particularly, schools where the turnover rate is consistently high:

• Inner-city schools

• Rural schools

• Schools with a high percentage of students from low socio-economic backgrounds

What Is the Relationship Between Mentoring, Professional Development,

and Teacher Quality?

• The most important factor in student achievement is the quality of the teacher.

• Quality is defined as a teacher’s expertise; ability to communicate his/her expertise in class; and technique in assessing student work, both orally and in writing.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). What matters most: Investing in quality teaching. New York: National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future.

What Is the Relationship Between Mentoring, Professional Development,

and Teacher Quality?

“Only when students have teachers who have received training in effective teaching practices does student achievement increase.”

Wenglinsky, H. (2000). How teaching matters. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Different Mentoring Models

1. District and university partnerships

2. University 5th-year extensions

3. Certification and licensing

4. Beginning teachers receive special attention for linking performance to high standards for students.

Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Quality Mentoring

Program

Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Quality Mentoring Program

1. A standards-based system

2. Gathering data

3. Building commitment

4. Building the implementation infrastructure

A Standards-Based Induction System

1. Performance Standards — make explicit the expectations for beginning teacher performance

2. Program Standards — make explicit the qualities of effective induction programs

JOHNSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLSRevised Teacher Induction Program Plan

• Goal: JCPS will retain quality teaching staff.

Objective:• 1. JCPS will provide a comprehensive

induction program that will support an increase in student achievement.

Strategies:• 1.1 Provide a 3-day orientation

experience for beginning teachers prior to the beginning of each school year.

Gathering Data

1. Demographic data

2. Process data

3. Perceptual data

Sample Document Summary List

Directions: Use this list to guide your efforts to get background data on theneed for a formal induction program in your school or district, previousefforts, and current stakeholder perceptions and needs.

Demographic Data: Information about the staff and previous inductionefforts

1. List s o f f aculty me mb ers, num ber o f years of experi ence in educat ion,num ber o f years at this school

2. If men tors have been as signed to b eginning te achers oradm inist ra tors, a l ist of m at ches

3. Docum ent at ion of pa r t icipat ion in s tate or o ther form al induct ionpr ogra m s, such as t rai ning dat es and l ists o f par t icipa nts

Proce ss D ata: Document s on p revious induct ion ac t iv iti es1. Te acher a nd ad m in ist ra tor handb ooks2. Agenda s from new facul ty ori en ta ti on sessions3. Agenda s from me ntor t ra ining s essions4. Mentor handb ooks5. Mentor t ra ining m at erials6. Policy s tatem ent s on induct ion7. Mem bers o f induct ion ad visory board8. Agenda s and m inut es of meet ings o f induct ion ad visory board9. Budg et s for induct ion prog ram s

Pe rce ptual Data : Sta ke holder p ercept ions on i nduct ion p rogra m s1. Resul ts of a ny sur ve ys conduct ed with beg inning educators, their

me ntors, and school and di str ict adm inist ra tors2. Any inform at ion col lecte d from inte rview s with b eginning educat ors,

their me ntors, and s chool and d ist ri ct ad m inistrat ors, including ex itint erviews

3. Resul ts or no te s from focus gro ups

Building Commitment

1. Identify key stakeholders

2. Plan group procedures

3. Develop vision and mission statements

4. Determine the elements of a quality induction program

5. Formalize district support

Key Stakeholders Checklist

Directions: Use this checklist to help determine whether you haverepresented key stakeholders on your planning committee.

_____ Central Office Administrators_____ S uperintendent_____ Chief financial officer_____ H uman resources representative_____ Curriculum supervisors

_____ School-Level Personnel_____ Principals_____ Experienced teachers_____ Be ginning teachers

_____ Professional Organizations/Bar gaining Units_____ T eacher unions_____ Professional organizations_____ Parent-teacher organizations

_____ Other Educator Personnel_____ T eacher-preparation program faculty members

_____ Community Members_____ Parents_____ G overnment officials_____ Clubs and organizations (e.g., Lions Club, Rotary Club)

Elements of a Quality Induction Mentor Program

1. New employee orientation

2. Professional development

3. Mentoring

4. Reciprocal classroom observations

5. Training

6. Formative assessment

7. Peer support groups

8. Mentor support groups

Building the Implementation Infrastructure

1. Project planning

2. Staffing and roles

3. Budgeting and financing

4. Programming for beginning teacher support

5. Communication

6. Accountability

Beginning Teacher Matching Survey

StatementStronglyagree

Agree Neutral DisagreeStronglydisagree

1. I see myself as being people-oriented.

2. I am willing to work withveteran teachers with the goal ofgrowing as a professionaleducator.

3. I am w illing to engage in theexchange of ideas I have learnedfrom training with the ideas fromexperienced teachers in the field.

4. I am able to accept supportand help from others withoutfeeling intimidated.

5. I enjoy working as a teamtoward a common goal.

6. I look forward to teaching thesubject(s) I have been assigned.

7. I want to have someone I cantrust to guide and support myfirst year of teaching.

Beginning Teacher Support Questionnaire

I ndicate the level andquality of support youreceived—or arereceiving—during yourbeginning years ofteaching. 1 indicates thatno such activitiesoccurred. 6 indicatesregular occurrence and ahigh degree of success.Circle your choice.

Characteristics ofBeginning Teacher Support

Programs

Indicate the level ofimportance of each of thecharacteristics in anexcellent beginningteacher support program. 1indicates little or noimportance. 6 indicatesextreme importance. Circleyour choice.

1 2 3 4 5 6A professional colleagueassigned to be a mentorduring your first year

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

A professional colleaguewho has received mentortraining assigned to be amentor during your firstyear

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

A professional colleaguewho receives a stipend forserving as mentor assignedto be a mentor during yourfirst year

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

A specific person fromwhom to obtain informationon handling schoolprocedures. (e.g., purchaseorders, textbooks, supplies)

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6Regular assistance on keyobjectives to be taught

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6Assistance from colleaguesin developing studentassessments

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5 6

Training in classroommanagement skills withstrategies modeled byexperienced colleagues

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. Where are we now?

2. Where do we want to go?

3. What is your district and/or school doing?

Teacher Mentoring Program

Planning, Implementing, and Maintaininga Quality Teacher Mentoring Program

Performance Standards Program Standards

What standards/expectations of abeginning teacher’sperformance are criticalto planning a successfulmentoring program?

Demographic Data Perception Data School Process

What data do yourdistrict/ schoolscollect to plan,implement, andmaintain a successfulteacher mentoringprogram?

Identifying KeyStakeholders

Planning GroupProcedures

DevelopingVision/Mission

Statements

DeterminingComponents of aQuality Induction

ProgramFormalizing

District SupportHow could yourdistrict/school buildcommitment toimplementing astandards-basedmentoring program?

ProjectPlanning

Staffing andRoles

Budgetingand Financing

Programmingfor Beginning

TeacherSupport Communication AccountabilityWhat

infrastructuresare needed atthedistrict/schoollevels tomaintain asuccessfulstandards-basedmentoringprogram?

Teachers and Mentors Make It Happen