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Superintendent:
John H. Ambrogi, Ed.D.

15 Wickham Road
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Telephone: (401)847-2100
Fax: (401)849-0170

Teacher Mentor Induction Program
Teacher Mentor Induction Program Framework DRAFT

Purpose and Goals

The purpose and goals of the Newport School Department Induction program is to encourage reflective practice throughout teachers’ careers with a focus on the initial five years within the profession and to focus on producing experienced teachers with teacher professional expertise. The Induction program will result in teacher retention, teacher professional growth and higher academic achievement for all students.

The continuous support of the Induction Program is designed to insure that both teachers and students have a lasting and supported commitment to the Newport School Department and the community of Newport.

The Induction Program will provide support and professional development for both new teachers and veteran teachers in a variety of areas to address the following Standards for High Quality Induction Programs: hiring, orientation, mentoring, professional learning, and formative assessment (Appendix A).

* Hiring- Students, schools and districts are well served by hiring policies and practices that honor the unique needs and powerful potential of beginning teachers (Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession-CSTP, 2005). Whenever possible, teachers will be stakeholders in the process of defining district needs and hiring practices pertaining to the selection of candidates.

* Orientation-(Appendix B) New teachers benefit from participation in an orientation to school and district beliefs and practices that occursbefore their teaching responsibilities begin (CSTP, 2005). An initial orientation will be provided to new teachers prior to the start of each new school year that will include: introduction of new teachers to the district of Newport; demographics, geography, and SALT report information. Teachers will also be introduced to colleagues to include: central office and administration, other new teachers, veteran teachers, mentors, and union leadership. Teachers will be introduced and acclimated to relevant documents of reference such as: the contract, benefits, curriculum, District Strategic Plan, School Improvement Plans, district initiatives, Beginning Teacher Standards, and expectations of the induction program. In addition, new teachers will be introduced to the following policies: student behavior, parent communication, and teacher evaluation. An organized document binder will be provided. Many of these topics will be revisited at future professional development and mentoring meetings (Appendix C-F).

* Mentoring- A strong relationship with a highly qualified mentor is essential to facilitating a maximum growth in new teachers (CSTP, 2006). Newport mentors have been identified as teachers who are experienced and exemplary in their practice and who possess knowledgeable about current best practice and district initiatives. Newport mentors will work towards providing a consistent message as it relates to school and district initiatives and provide support to address individual teacher needs.

* Professional Learning- New teachers benefit from engagement inpurposeful, ongoing, formal and informal learning opportunities that promote reflection, collaboration and professional growth (CSTP, 2006). The professional learning component will offer district and school specific professional development to include: workshops, book clubs and peer observations. Working with the Director of Teaching and Learning and/or his/her designee, professional development will be aligned with school improvement plans, The District Strategic Plan, The K-12 Literacy Plan (Appendix G), and teacher needs and wants (Appendix H).

* Formative Assessment- New teachers benefit when districts have acarefully developed formative assessment system focused on improving teaching practice and enhancing student achievement (CSTP, 2006). Formative assessment shall be ongoing using variety of tools and input from both the mentors and mentees. The program will be developed and modified as indicated by the results of the assessments to insure the program meets the professional development needs of new as well as veteran teachers as they work toward improving teaching practices that will enhance student achievement.