Attachment B
TYLER COUNTY SCHOOLS
NEW TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM
Program Goals
- Build a new teacher induction program that will ease the transition into teaching
- Provide support and focus on teaching and learning
- Provide teacher quality assurance for Tyler County students
- Maintain a high retention rate of highly qualified teachers for the county.
Program Description
In order to provide a quality new teacher induction program Tyler County will use the combined efforts of the following team of people: teachers, administrators in all schools, central office staff; Curriculum Director, Director of Special Education Services, Attendance Director, Director of Child Nutrition/Support Services, Teacher Mentors, and County Staff Development Council Members who will meet and work collaboratively to develop a top-quality program for new educators.
Tyler County has hired an average of 4.5 first-time teachers to fill positions in its Pre-K -12 schoolsfor the past six years. Most of our open positions are filled with individuals who have substituted in our county and have accrued teaching experience. Meeting as a team wedeveloped a New Teacher Induction Program that would consist of a minimum of threeyears of ongoing training and support. Induction will begin when possible by early August. Teachers will join planning sessions as they are hired.
The first day of training all new teachers and mentors will meet together.New Teachers will receive a copy of The First Days of School (or another pertinent book) along with a New Teacher Binder which they will use and refer to for three years.
Representatives of the Financial Department will give an introduction to the basics necessary for employment and time will be provided to ask questions and complete any necessary forms.An overview of the expectations from the County and specifically from the New Teacher Induction Program will be shared by the County Leadership Team in attendance. Included in this time will be a short overview which may include the following:
- Explanation of the New Teacher Induction Program
- Local policies and procedures.
- Where to find copies of Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives
- How to begin the school year: Discipline, instructional strategies, assessment techniques, working with parents, and meeting individual learner needs, confidentiality, lesson plans, make –up work etc. The primary focus will be on Classroom Management.
Mentors and School Teams:
At each school site there will be an assigned mentor for each new teacher as well as a teacher who serves on the County Staff Development Council, who will offer guidance and assistance. The new teacher’s particular grade level and content area are considered whenassigning mentors. All mentors will have attended the Charlotte Danielson WVCPD two- day training which provides insights and understanding of issues facing new teachers. The intent is to provide new teachers with specific, immediate, nonthreatening feedback should they need it. A copy of the Centers suggested working Mentor Calendar will also be available as a reference and for keeping records of meetings.
Additional Resources:
Additional components of the induction process involvestwo day new teacher professional development workshops, which will occur in September, January and March. During these meetings new teachers will be trained on county supported Best Practice Strategies, and will be given planning time to begin to design lessons using the strategies they are taught. New teachers and Mentors will be given time to talk with each other, share experiences, voice concerns and cooperatively seeing solutions to problems. County Office Administrators and Mentors will facilitate these meetings.
In April all new teachers will return for a one- day Induction Review and Reflection meeting. Teachers will be asked to share samples of student work, lesson plans and/ or activities that were successful throughout the year. Participation in this meeting is required in order to the Certificate which verifies the participation in the New Teacher Induction Program mandated by WV State Law.
Second and Third years of the Induction Process:
During the second and third years of the induction process, the Curriculum and Instruction Director will continue to work closely with these new teachers. Classroom review and reflection will be ongoing. In addition second and third year teachers will attend one session each semester to receive further training in county technology, project based instruction, testing, instructional strategies, and instructional planning. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, voice concerns, seek solutions to common classroom problems, and share experiences. Step 7 funds will be used to cover the cost for substitutes, and for materials presented to participants. Second and third-year teachers can contact County Personnel for any assistance they may need in the classrooms, and for access to resources for special projects.
Role of Building Principals:
At each school site the role of the principal in the induction process is an important one. To ensure consistency between what is promoted during the initial induction training and what will be promoted in the schools, the principal’s will receive awareness training before the actual induction process begins. At each school the principal along with the building induction team (mentor and staff development council representative) will provide school-specific orientation, support, encouragement, and guidance for the new teachers, along with opportunities for ongoing assistance and staff development. The recommendation of a professional certificate lies solely with the building principal.
Program Monitoring:
This will be a new program for Tyler County and feed-back in the form of surveys
and training evaluation forms will be used to evaluate its effectiveness.
Surveys will be conducted with New Teachers, Mentors, Principals and County
Office Staff. The data collected will be used annually to make additions and/or
deletions in thefuture induction planning.