Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

TA P P I N G T H E P O T E N T I A L : R E TA I N I N G A N D D E V E L O P I N G H I G H - Q U A L I T Y N E W T E A C H E R S• Standards-based evaluation. Some new teachers may not be ideally suited for teaching.Standards-based evaluation of all beginning teachers provides a mechanism for determiningwhether or not new teachers should move forward in the profession.To retain teachers and improve their overall quality, comprehensive induction shouldbe accompanied by the following essential elements that create high-functioning learningcommunities within schools:• strong principal leadership;• high-quality providers of the induction program with dedicated staff resources;• additional support for new teachers with little preparation;• incentives for teachers to participate in induction activities;• alignment between induction, classroom needs, and professional standards; and• an adequate and stable source of funding.States, districts, and local schools all view and practice induction in different ways.Therefore, it is important to distinguish what is and is not meant in this report by theterm “induction.”What Comprehensive Induction Is Not• Induction is not a crash course in teaching. Teachers must be prepared with contentknowledge and teaching skills when they enter the classroom. But just as inductionis not a substitute for quality preparation, neither is preparation a substitute forquality induction.• Induction is not an orientation session in which administrators tell teachers where thecopy machine and refrigerator are located. Induction incorporates teachers into theteaching profession.• Induction is not a stand-alone mentoring program, however rigorous it may be. Inductiondoes include time for new teachers to work with mentors to improve their instruction.But induction also must include additional components to effectively retainand develop teachers. 27• Induction is not a string of disconnected one-day workshops. To be effective, inductionmust be embedded in the professional culture of every school and district with thestrong support of school leaders. 28• Induction is not a top-down, unidirectional approach to teacher learning where new teachersare expected to be only passive recipients. Beginners also have knowledge andskills to offer existing teachers, mentors, administrators, and principals, and theexchange of information benefits everyone.• Induction is not just of benefit to beginning teachers. High-quality veteran teachers alsocan improve their skills by participating in induction through common planningtime with inductees and by serving as mentors and instructional leaders. 29• Induction is not a way to help teachers cope with dysfunctional schools that leaves theroot causes of poor working conditions untouched. Induction can facilitate positive,systemic change in the local school environment and, ultimately, in theteaching profession.3