Induction Newsletter: Winter 2013

Illinois Induction Startup Guide Available Online

The Illinois Induction Startup Guide—a free, online resource for new teacher induction and mentoring programs—is now available at InductionIllinois.com.

The Startup Guide contains helpful information for beginning induction programs and includes the following sections:

• Timeline
• Program Leadership
• Goals, Design, Evaluation and Resources
• Activities Before, During, and After the Academic Year
• Finances and Budget

This guide is written specifically for the Illinois context, and it is applicable to all districts, ROEs, universities, consortia, and other induction providers.

The Startup Guide was created over several months by a team of Illinois induction stakeholders, led by the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative and funded by the Illinois State Board of Education.

In Spring 2013, INTC will publish a complete online Illinois Induction Guide covering the nine Illinois Induction Program Standards, as published in the Illinois Induction Program Continuum. The Illinois Induction Guide, a free resource, is being written by a statewide team of induction experts and will also be available on InductionIllinois.com.

Lose the Leader, Lose the Program?
Five Strategies that Ensure Sustainability

There are many examples of committed people with leadership skills and passion who have launched high functioning induction programs. Unfortunately some programs become so dependent on one leader that when that person leaves, the program flounders, or worse yet, ceases to exist altogether. That does not need to be the case. Here are five attributes that enable successful programs to remain stable in a time of leader turnover:

1. There is a Collaborative Leadership Team of key stakeholders that oversees the program. A group of well-informed representatives can anticipate and advocate for transition to new leadership. When necessary the team can also step in to run the program until new leadership is in place.
2. Essential elements of the program are in writing and accessible to all who need them. Advances in technology such as Google Docs and Dropbox easily allow for storing and sharing essential documents and make them immediately available to new leaders.
3. All stakeholders are informed of program progress on a regular basis. For example, when superintendents require a board of education presentation on induction, they send the message that induction is valuable and that it should continue regardless of who is in charge.
4. There is a plan in place for conducting on-going monitoring, evaluation, and program improvement. Successful programs require attention and focus. Stagnation can be the beginning of the end for many good programs, especially when there is a leadership void.
5. Program leaders understand that advocacy is an on-going responsibility. When new superintendents, union leadership, or building principals come on board, program leaders and/or collaborative team members should not assume the new people have had effective induction training. Inform those whose participation and support will be needed to sustain the program.

Most developing programs may not have plans in place for every contingency. However, addressing these five strategies can significantly increase the likelihood that the program will succeed.

New Research on Induction Programs

In Fall 2012, INTC released a report outlining the effects of eliminated ISBE funding of induction programs across the state.

This report shows that the previously funded programs were able to continue at nearly the same level of intensity they had when they were funded, albeit with significant sacrifice. For example:

• Many mentors worked with little compensation.
• New teachers did not receive stipends.
• New teachers received less professional development.

Due to their previous funding levels and institutional commitment to induction, the previously funded programs were nevertheless able to provide more services than did districts that never received ISBE grant funding. However, many survey respondents expressed concern that the previously-funded programs may not be able to maintain their current levels of service for long, especially after they experience any staff changes. Many of those programs were operating with much the same staff as when they were funded: they already had trained mentors, were run by the same program coordinators, and had schools managed by the same principals.

To read the full report, click here.

It Starts with the Principal

A principal’s relationship with the entire teaching staff can impact whether a new teacher wants to remain teaching in that school.

This was a major finding in “Administrative Climate and Novices’ Intent to Remain Teaching”, a recently published article in The Elementary School Journal.

Authors Pogodzinski, Youngs, Frank, and Belman write, “It makes intuitive sense that teachers would prefer to teach in a school where they perceive a positive administrative climate.” The findings from this study highlight the fact that it “is not just direct individual relationships that a novice teacher has with her administrators that influence her attitudes and behaviors, but perceptions of the overall administrative climate within the school also influence key teacher outcomes.”

“An induction program is vitally important, but is not sufficient to cure all retention problems,” says INTC Acting Director Dr. Patricia Brady. “As this article suggests, school climate and administrative support are also essential.”

Lead author Dr. Ben Pogodzinski will present at the INTC Induction and Mentoring conference in February 2013.

Pogodzinski, B., Youngs, P., Frank, K.A., & Belman, D. (2012) The Elementary School Journal 13(2)

New STEM Conference for Beginning Teachers

In summer 2013, INTC will build on its hugely popular Beginning Teacher Conference and offer a new, additional conference for early-career STEM teachers and their mentors.

Potential attendees include teachers with less than four years of classroom experience, both secondary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teachers and elementary teachers who cover any STEM topics in their classrooms. Those who support beginning teachers are also welcome to attend.

The conference will be held on July 30-31, 2013, at the I Hotel in Champaign.

The conference will include breakout sessions with strands for different grade levels, time for teachers to plan and share ideas in role-alike sessions, an engaging keynote speaker, and plenty of opportunity to network.

Due to the current economic situation in Illinois, state and local education budgets are being cut along with support and professional development for new teachers. This conference should help fill in this gap and assist new teachers in how they deliver STEM instruction to their K-12 students.

Support from sponsors is expected to cover the costs for attendees.

Upcoming Dates