Induction Newsletter: Fall 2013

Message from the Director 
Keeping Induction in the Spotlight

Districts have many competing priorities: implementing Common Core Standards, raising test scores, evaluating teachers—and just accomplishing the day-to-day work of educating and nurturing children. It is easy to overlook the importance of supporting new teachers, especially in the current era of low teacher turnover, as there are many applicants for each teaching vacancy. But new teachers still need support, especially as they implement new initiatives and prepare students for high-stakes tests. Investing in new teachers IS investing in kids: Successful teachers help students succeed. Thank you for your work in keeping new teacher support a top priority, both locally and across the state.

Patricia Brady
Director, Illinois New Teacher Collaborative

New Free Resource: Illinois Induction Guide

The Illinois Induction Guide is designed to help Illinois schools support new teachers during their critical first few years in the classroom. This online resource provides step-by-step advice on planning, designing, and implementing new induction and mentoring programs and provides the tools for evaluating and refining existing programs.

A team of 25 experts collaboratively wrote and vetted the information in the induction guide to make it relevant to programs at any stage of development. The Illinois Induction Guide is designed to help school districts that do not have the funds to pay for outside induction services.

The Guide is organized around the nine Illinois Induction Program Standards. It also contains a Start-Up Guide that provides information for school districts in the beginning stages of creating a formal new teacher support program.

Click here to visit the Illinois Induction Guide, or visit InductionIllinois.com.

Funding for the Illinois Induction Guide was provided by a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Call for Proposals

We invite you to share your expertise, lessons learned, and promising practices related to beginning teacher needs, induction, mentoring, and support at the 9th Annual Induction and Mentoring Conference. Your session(s) should address one or more of the Critical Issue Categories (based on the Illinois Induction Standards). You are encouraged to submit proposals reflecting the conference focus on The Changing Landscape of Induction and Mentoring. The deadline for proposal submissions is November 20, 2013. To submit a proposal, visit the INTC website.

INTC Conferences

2013 conference recap:

INTC hosted three conferences this year offering networking and professional development for new teachers, mentors, and other induction professionals.

The 8th Annual Induction and Mentoring Conference in February highlighted the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA). The conference was attended by nearly 300 program coordinators, administrators, mentors, higher education representatives, new teachers, and other Illinois induction and mentoring stakeholders.

The 4th Annual Beginning Teacher Conference in June gave over 100 new teachers from around the state the opportunity to reflect on their first year of teaching, to network with their peers, and to attend breakout sessions presented by teaching practitioners.

The first Beginning Teacher STEM Conference took place in July for new teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics with one to four years of experience and their mentors. This conference gave over 100 participants hands-on breakout sessions in STEM content areas. Registration filled in less than 24 hours!

Thanks to the State Farm Companies Foundation and Governors State University for their support of these conferences.

2014 conference dates:

• 9th Annual Induction and Mentoring Conference – February 25-26, 2014
  • New for 2014: expansion to more than 50 breakout sessions 
• 5th Annual Beginning Teacher Conference – June 23-24, 2014
  • Open to any Illinois teacher finishing his or her first year in the classroom
• 2nd Annual Beginning Teacher STEM Conference – July 29-30, 2014
  • New for 2014: more registration spots and more breakout sessions

Visit the INTC website for updates on conference registration!

Providing Mentoring and Evaluations for Substitutes?

The majority of new teachers in California start their careers in temporary jobs, often by working as substitutes or aides, according to a 2013 study by SRI International and partners. These new teachers do not receive mentoring, other induction supports, or formal evaluations until they land their first permanent job—often several years after graduation. Then, they take part in induction programs that are more appropriate to brand-new graduates.

Anecdotal data suggest that many new teachers in Illinois also start out in temporary positions and have no formal support. New teachers, whether permanent or temporary, would benefit from formalized induction programs because they would positively impact students’ learning sooner. Additionally, temporary teachers would be much better prepared when they land their first permanent positions— which are often in the same districts in which they had been substituting.

Read the full research report, including an executive summary here.

Koppich, J. E., Humphrey, D. C., Bland, J. A., Heenan, B., McCaffery, T, Ramage, K. & Stokes, L. (2013). California’s beginning teachers: The bumpy path to a profession. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

The Value of Beginning Teacher/Mentor Interations

Recent INTC research sheds light on the need for frequent, meaningful interactions between new teachers and their mentors. Beginning teachers reported that the more frequently they met with their mentors, the more value the interaction had. These interactions included weekly discussions of instructional issues and problems, an analysis of student work and assessment data, and collaboratively developing a professional growth plan. 

Upcoming Dates