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 SSuccessful mentors are insightful, patient, empathetic, and enthusiastic, and mustbe themselves willing to collaborate and learn.At the heart of the SCNTP induction program is the New Teacher Center FormativeAssessment System (NTC FAS), a new teacher professional development systemgrounded in the SCNTP Developmental Continuum of Teacher Abilities. NTC FASprovides mentors with tools to move beginning teacher practice forward: classroomprofiles, collaborative logs, individual learning plans, self-assessment summaries, protocolsfor collection and analysis of student work, and pre- and post-observation tools.One-sixth of California BTSA programs use NTC FAS, and it is also used by school districtsoutside California.New SCNTP mentors receive intensive training focused on using the NTC FASprior to the opening of school. They learn to use protocols to observe new teachers,collect student data, and analyze student work to help new teachers plan standardsbasedinstruction. Advanced training in effective coaching skills accompanies thistraining. During the academic year, mentors attend weekly half-day Mentor Forums,the cornerstone for building mentor skills and abilities. Forums provide additionalprofessional development in topics such as literacy, mentoring for equity, and contentbasedmentoring. They are the venue for mentors to network, share successes anddilemmas, support each other’s practice, and ensure that the SCNTP model continuesto evolve to meet current classroom needs. Mentors use the same process of data collection,self-assessment, and revision of practice that they present to new teachers toimprove their own practice.Common Planning Time and CollaborationBefore the start of the new school year, SCNTP beginning teachers attend a daylongorientation, where they first meet their mentors. Mentors typically arrange tomeet twice with beginning teachers prior to the beginning of school to help them setup classrooms and procedures, and thereafter meet weekly, one-on-one, before, during,and after class throughout the academic year. Because SCNTP mentors work fulltimesupporting fifteen new teachers, they are able to work in two-hour time blocksthat include pre- and post-observation conferences.Ongoing Professional DevelopmentThe SCNTP provides mentors with systematic protocol for new teacher development,but allows them to adapt support to new teachers’ specific needs and classroomcontexts. Although mentors provide emotional support and help with classroom management,their goal is always to focus beginning teachers on improving instruction.They work to build a teaching profession aimed at meeting student needs by continuouslyreflecting on and improving the practice in collaboration with other teachers.Even for first-year teachers, mentors concentrate on lesson planning, analyzing studentwork, collecting and analyzing classroom data, and revising instruction. They coteach,provide demonstration lessons, arrange for observation of exemplary teachers, facilitaterelationships with principals, and provide access to district and communityresources. Mentors and beginning teachers create a portfolio that documents annualprogress toward instructional goals. For second-year teachers, mentor support placesgreater emphasis on content-specific pedagogy and differentiating instruction.37