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 Sbut they do receive mentoring from intern consultants. If substitutes are hired for acontract position, they reenter the program as interns and are mentored and evaluatedfor another year.Quality ComponentsMentoringIn the Toledo Plan, mentoring rests heavily on classroom observations and individualconferences. While intern consultants are released full-time from classroom responsibilities,interns and veteran teachers being mentored receive no reduced workload.Consultants are required to spend approximately twenty hours per semester mentoringand evaluating ten to twelve interns. Intern consultants observe new teachers in the classroomtwo to three times a month, and they meet with interns after each observation todiscuss strengths and areas for improvement. Observations focus on improving instructionand classroom management.Toledo selects and trains only the most qualified people for intern consultants. To bea mentor, intern consultants must be licensed in their subject area, and most have morethan five years of experience. Interested candidates fill out an application; obtain lettersof reference from their school principal; agree to two unannounced observations oftheir classroom teaching; submit a writing sample; and complete an interview. Based onall the collected information, the Board of Review then decides whether or not to hirethe applicant. New intern consultants are trained to mentor by observing and workingwith veteran intern consultants. New consultants also participate in a summer trainingworkshop that lasts from two to three days.Intern consultants mentor and evaluate for a three-year period, after which theyreturn to their classrooms to teach. The aim of the Toledo Plan is to make sure qualityteachers return to the classroom where they are also needed and not create a hierarchyamong teachers.Common Planning Time and CollaborationThe Toledo Plan does not specifically provide common planning time and collaborationwith other classroom teachers. But teachers do interact with one another duringprofessional development activities. On a regular basis, intern consultants read and commenton each other’s evaluations of interns.Ongoing Professional DevelopmentAt the beginning of the school year, new teachers are paid to attend a five-day NewTeacher Academy. The mandatory academy orients new teachers to teaching resourcesand policies in the district, and new teachers are introduced to their intern consultants.Intern consultants provide much of the training during the academy. In addition to theNew Teacher Academy, interns across the district are required to take a semester-longprofessional development course on effective teaching.External NetworkThe Toledo Plan does not directly organize new teachers into external networks, butmany teachers informally network during professional development activities. Internconsultants are housed in the same office so they receive support and guidance fromone another throughout the school year.49
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 NAssessment and EvaluationIntern consultants evaluate interns frequently, writing six or seven formal evaluationsper intern, per semester. After each observation, consultants write a narrativeevaluation highlighting strengths, areas for further growth, and suggestions forimprovement. The Toledo Plan outlines four performance criteria: teaching procedures;classroom management; knowledge of subject area and academic preparation;and personal characteristics and professional responsibility.After working with interns or veteran teachers, intern consultants recommend tothe Intern Board of Review whether the teachers should be rehired or released fromtheir contract the following year. If interns show improvement but have not yet metstandards, they are given an additional semester to show competency. Interns mayappeal to the Intern Board of Review if they are not satisfied with the decision.In the Toledo Plan, intern consultants play the role of both mentor and evaluator.Other programs and experts argue that support and assessment should be aligned butconducted by separate people, but the Toledo Plan argues that the person who spendsthe largest amount of time working with individual teachers—and therefore has thebest understanding of their abilities—is most qualified to evaluate them.Making Induction WorkPrincipal LeadershipSince its adoption, the Toledo Plan has earned solid support not only from districtofficials, but also from school administrators and teachers throughout the district.Of all the key players in the Toledo Plan, principals play a limited role. Internconsultants meet regularly with school principals regarding the progress of theirteachers, but consultants evaluate new teachers. Principals write a short summaryeach semester regarding a new teacher’s professionalism, attendance, ability to turnin work on time, and mindfulness of building policies. The principal’s summarythen becomes part of the intern consultants’ longer written report to the InternBoard of Review. Only after interns successfully complete two semesters in theintern program do school principals assume the responsibility of evaluating them.Although their role is smaller than in other programs, principals in Toledo appreciatethe lightened workload and the specialized support that intern consultants providein mentoring and evaluating new teachers.High-Quality ProvidersThe Toledo Plan is overseen by the Intern Board of Review, a group made up offive appointed union representatives and four appointed management representatives.Board members are not released from their jobs to govern its activities.Leadership of the board is balanced between union officials and administrators,and chairmanship rotates annually between the president of the TFT union and adistrict assistant superintendent, usually from the Office of Human Services. In the2003–04 school year, the district hired a clerical administrator to oversee the hiringdecisions made by the Intern Board of Review.50
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Tapping the Potential - Alliance for Excellent Education

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