Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

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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 Scial support to districts to provide stipends to mentors, higher levels of compensationfor portfolio scorers, and the creation of career paths that recognize the expertiseof the teacher leaders trained through the BEST Program.For more informationDr. Catherine Fisk NataleBureau of Preparation, Certification, Assessment and SupportConnecticut State Department of Education165 Capitol AvenueHartford, CT 06106Email: Catherine.Natale@po.state.ct.usPhone: (860) 713-683135
A L L I A N C E F O R E X C E L L E N T E D U C AT I O NThe New Teacher Center at the University of California at Santa CruzSanta Cruz New Teacher Project (SCNTP)Judy WalshOverview and History of ProgramIn 1988, the California Department of Education and the Commission on TeacherCredentialing launched the California New Teacher Project, a four-year pilot programdesigned to reverse high rates of teacher attrition by providing induction programs forbeginning teachers. Ellen Moir, then director of teacher education at the University ofCalifornia at Santa Cruz (UCSC), established the Santa Cruz New Teacher Project aspart of this effort. The SCNTP pilot offered comprehensive professional developmentprovided by exemplary veteran teachers released full-time from the classroom to mentor.In 1992, California legislated funding for Beginning Teacher Support andAssessment (BTSA) programs, after an evaluation study of the California New TeacherProject showed that the induction programs had dramatically improved teacher retention.The SCNTP played a key role in developing BTSA program standards and trainings.The SCNTP, which has expanded to include fourteen Silicon Valley districts, hassupported the professional development of 14,000 new teachers in California.The SCNTP program design is based on the conviction, supported by a growingbody of research, that developing outstanding teachers is critical to raising studentachievement. The SCNTP model has five interconnected components:• a vision of teacher development as a lifelong process of reflective learning;• institutional support for induction from district and school leaders;• reliance on exemplary veteran teachers trained to share their professional expertise;• induction support grounded in professional teaching standards; and• a classroom-based teacher-learning environment focused on providing equitablelearning experiences for all students.The SCNTP is now one of 150 California BTSA programs. In 2003–04, the projectprovided induction for thirty school districts in the Santa Cruz region and in theSilicon Valley, serving 700 new teachers.Quality ComponentsMentoringThe SCNTP’s key intervention has been not only to tap the experience of exemplaryveteran teachers, but also to provide them with ongoing training. The SCNTPleadership and district personnel work together to select mentors. An outstandingrecord as a classroom teacher and a clear understanding of content standards, curriculum,and assessment techniques are essential, but successful mentors also mustunderstand adult learning theory. They need excellent interpersonal skills, andbenefit from prior experience facilitating groups. Since so many new teachers workwith English-language learners, expertise in language acquisition is important.36
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Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

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