Roxanne M. Williams Ed.D. Michelle Hellman

 Baby Boomer Exodus  New Generation of Teachers  Concerns about classroom management  Concerns about the pedagogical skills leaving

 New teacher’s fear and isolation needs to be addressed  Mentor is a friendly, familiar face in the sea of new acquaintances  “Relationships is all there is”

 Program design is based on research  Evertson & Smithey, statistical evidence for mentor training  Charlotte Danielson, Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching  Podsen & Denmark, Coaching & Mentoring First-Year & Student Teachers  Harry Wong, The First Days of School

Does your program assign mentors with inductees? 1. Yes 2. No

 Purposeful Pairing is a Great Theory  Compatible Personality Type  Same Grade Level  Close Proximity

 Induction Day  Induction Manual  Answer common questions (pay check, how to get a sub.)  Introduce to induction-mentoring program  Harry Wong’s First Days of School

Do you have an Induction Day(s) as part of your program? 1. Yes 2. No

 Induction Day Should be Away from the School Building  Induction Day Needs to be Interactive  More the Merrier! More There, More Input!

 Mentor Training Day  Review of training  Opportunity to discuss what learned  Research  Emphasis on classroom observation  Planning for Induction Day

Does your program include mentor training? 1. No 2. Training is at least one day per school year 3. Training is twice per school year 4. Formal training based upon a text/manual which includes multiple days throughout school year

 Mentor Training Has Benefits  Awareness of their role  Awareness of how to navigate  Raises level of professional talk  Raises level of expectations for professional development

 Monthly Mentor Training Meetings  Podsen & Denmark’s Coaching & Mentoring First-Year & Student Teachers  Power point and/or video of a lesson or cognitive coaching session

 Monthly Meetings: M-I-C Group (Mentors-Inductees-Coordinator)  Inspirational  Discuss a monthly topic from Charlotte Danielson’s Framework  Coordinator’s power point or special speaker from within the district, and group discussion

 Next month’s mentoring packet is handed out  New monthly topic (Danielson)  Planning Guide with individualized inductee goal  Observation requirement with checklists  Article Discussion  Reading assignment for the mentors (Podsen & Denmark)  Treats

 Monthly Meetings: M-I-C Trio (Mentor-Inductee-Coordinator)  Coordinator meets with mentor pair to answer questions and offer support

 Weekly Meetings: M-I pair (Mentor- Inductee)  Offer support to inductee ▪ Answer questions about the school, district, policies, etc. ▪ Act as a sounding board (may vent)  Monthly Packet

 Monthly packet  Planning guide (individualized goal setting)  Article discussion  Observation discussion

What type of meetings are required of your inductees? 1. None 2. Only with mentor, based upon inductee request 3. Required mentor- inductee meetings 4. Required M-I meetings and M-I-C meetings 5. Required M-I meetings, M-I-C meetings, and M-I- C group meetings

 At Times, Teachers Feel Overwhelmed from so Many Meetings  Teachers Benefit from the Meetings

 Classroom observation taught in stages to inductees and mentors  Leads to cognitive coaching, peer coaching, and action research  Induction Manual contains Observation Guide based upon Podsen & Denmark’s work

What type of classroom observations are required by your program? 1. None 2. Mentor informal observation 3. Mentor and inductee informal observation 4. Mentor formal observation (cognitive coaching) 5. Mentor and inductee formal observation (cognitive coaching)

 At Times, Teachers Feel Overwhelmed with Commitments to do Classroom Observation  Teachers Benefit from Classroom Observations (observing and being observed)

 Second school district in IL to receive ISBE approval for an induction-mentoring program  UIS  Presentations  INTC  KDP Connect  Website  Research

 Mentoring is a form of professional development and it ties directly into all of the other professional development initiatives at our school.

 5 Essentials : Survey of Learning Conditions  Illinois Shared Learning Environment  Common Core and cohesive curriculum  Local Assessment System  Stem Programs of Study and Individual Learning Plans  Performance Evaluation Reform Act  Mentoring and induction for new teachers and new principals

 This survey is used to provide a detailed look at the inner workings of a school from an organized perspective. The survey is like taking an X-ray of a school to identify strengths and weaknesses.  The five indicators on the survey are :  Effective Leaders  Collaborative Teachers  Involved Families  Supportive Environments  Ambitious Instruction

 Mentoring programs provide an opportunity for veteran teachers to help novice teachers with creating unit plans to cover common core standards.  Mentoring and induction programs provide a chance for mentors and inductees to observe in classrooms to gain knowledge about instruction and curriculum across grade levels.  Mentoring and induction programs provide an opportunity to provide feedback to one another about instruction that takes place in classrooms.

 The Mentoring and Induction Program provides detailed information on teaching based on the competencies from Charolette Danielson’s “Enhancing Professional Practice A Framework for Teaching”  New teacher evaluation is based on Charolette Danielson’s framework

 Multitude of education initiatives – Administrators cannot implement it all alone  Teacher buy-in  Teachers viewed as credible sources

 Challenges and Victories  Prisoner, vacationer, learner  Administrator’s support  Funding

Do you perceive that there are prisoners, vacationers, and learners amongst your inductee pool? 1. Yes 2. Some school years 3. No

How supportive do you feel your administrators are toward your mentoring-induction program? 1. Opposed 2. Indifferent 3. Some 4. Interested 5. Interested & involved

 Did you learn anything from your challenges and victories?  Reflecting on challenges and victories builds support for new growth.

 Roxanne M. Williams Ed.D. Michelle Hellman