This
Toolkit grew out of a New Hampshire Symposium on Attracting and Retaining
Quality Educators, initiated in October 2000.
The Symposium identified several priorities to be addressed by the State
Board of Education. One of these priorities
was to investigate and make recommendations regarding mentoring for beginning
educators. Accordingly, the State Board
authorized the New Hampshire Department of Education to create a Mentoring Task
Force, whose charge was two-fold:
1)
Develop recommendations to the State Board on how the State could best support
the development of induction-with-mentoring services in New Hampshire schools;
and
2)
Develop standards and guidelines for induction-with-mentoring.
The
Task Force worked for six months and presented its recommendations and a
beginning draft of the Toolkit to a group of reviewers and finally to the State
Board in August 2002. The Toolkit was
reviewed and updated during the spring of 2007.
Are You Ready? Thinking about
getting started
There are some important questions to explore and
answer before you decide to embark on
implementing an induction-with-mentoring program, as well as a number of
elements that should be in place to build for success.
GET READY …
Why are we even thinking about
induction-with-mentoring? Are we clear
on what we hope it will change or accomplish for us as a school, district, or
community?
GET
SET …
Do we have the right resources in place, or
identified? Do we have the support of
the school board and larger community?
Do we have a champion?
AND
GO …
Have you paused and taken stock of the
‘pre-requisites’ and feel like you are ready to move forward? If yes – your next steps should be to pick up
the IWM Toolkit and begin the process of a needs/self-assessment to create a
prioritized action plan for moving forward!
GET
READY …
Why are we even thinking about
induction-with-mentoring? Are we clear
on what we hope it will change or accomplish for us as a school, district, or
community?
1.2 ASK:
Is there anything in place already? What does it look like? What results are we getting and how do we
know? What supports are in place? How does what’s in place meet /or not meet the
goal/purpose? What is the change needed? 1.3 ASK: Who or what is driving this discussion/
decision? Þ
Perceived need Þ
DINI/SINI Þ
Overwhelming number of new teachers . .
. . Þ
Grant money available Þ
Some evaluation results Þ
Program development What
are the implications of these drivers over others?
Back-Up to Step 1 – Getting Ready
Explanation:
There is often a terrific urge to dive into the
nuts and bolts planning of an induction-with-mentoring program in order to feel
a sense of accomplishment. Resist this
urge! Spend time talking about the
purpose of the program and what success will look like. Involve as many stakeholders in this
discussion as possible. The results of
this discussion (even if you modify them over time) will be the basis of your
communication message, your program design, your budget, and your evaluation
plan. We can’t overemphasize the
importance of making this your first step.
Document the results of your discussion on the following worksheet.
What to do:
1. CONVENE a representative sample of your school
community. This group may be your Design
Team or a larger gathering from which your Design Team will be formed. Group size makes a difference in your
discussion – the larger the group, the longer the discussion will take, and the
more likely you will consider all points of view. At this stage, it is worth taking the extra
time.
2. CONDUCT a
discussion of the questions posed in Step 1.
Ask a person whose point of view is represented by someone else in the
group to facilitate this discussion so that the facilitator can concentrate on
keeping the discussion going and making sure all voices are heard.
3. RECORD
your results! Record publicly in the
meeting, in minutes of the meeting, and in your program documentation.
References:
There is much written about induction and mentoring. Most sources that describe programs or approaches
speak to the possible benefits. Some key
resources on this topic are available in Sections III and IV of the
Induction-With-Mentoring Toolkit.
Where does the Toolkit talk about Goal Setting?
Section I Standard
7, Systemic Program
Section III Making
the Case – for information that helps support the need for IWM programs and
discusses the types of impact they have
Section IV Resources
– organized by subject, with annotations to help guide your selection of
reference materials
What
other resources might help? The
New Hampshire Department of Education, in partnership with your local education
support center.
Advice from the Experienced:
Induction-with-mentoring programs can yield
enormous results for all faculty members, not just new teachers, but they cost
money. Without clear objectives, and
ways to know that you have achieved those objectives (evaluation data), funders
will not be inclined to prioritize the induction-with mentoring program over
other desired programs. Make sure that
you have clearly defined goals from the start; decide what evidence you will
need to show you have reached those goals; and make sure these goals are
endorsed by those who will be making funding decisions.
A Scenario:
Last Word:
Did we impress upon you the importance of defining
a goal and deciding what success looks like as a first step in your process?
GET
SET …
Do we have the right resources in place, or
identified? Do we have the support of
the school board and larger community?
Do we have a champion?
2.2 DECIDE
WHO WILL BE SERVED AND HOW LONG v
Novice teachers (just out of teacher
training) v
Alternative Certification teachers v
New to the district v
New to the building v
New to the grade level v
New to the content area v
Administrators v
Paraprofessionals v
Other 2.1 START
COMMUNICATING – BUILD SUPPORT Administration Teachers School Board Community 2.3 START
BUILDING A STRUCTURE v
Full time mentor or teacher mentor
model? v
What’s required and what’s not? v
Which buildings/grade levels? v
Induction and Mentoring o How
do we define them? What belongs to
which? o Who
does what – when and how o Which
comes first? v
Identify Program Services o Mentoring o Induction v
Identify/Outline Procedures o Mentor
Criteria, recruitment and identification o Mentee
identification and prioritization o Matching
procedures o Conflict
resolution v
Identify Program Supports o Mentor/Mentee
expectations (role description) o Administrator
expectations (role description) o Time
– time to meet, coverage to meet o Assignment
considerations o Incentives o Documentation
– what and how used
Year 1
2.4 DEVELOP
A PROGRAM EVALUATION PLAN How will we know? v
Given the goals . . . o What
will be our success measures?
(Think broadly and realize this will be a phased in process.) v
Gather baseline data v
Gather/develop tools v
Define a reporting process o What
information o To
Whom It May Concern o When 2.5 THINK
SYSTEMICALLY v
How does what we are planning relate
to: o Supervision
and evaluation o Professional
development o Confidentiality o Other
services/processes in the district o Union
Back-Up to Step 2 – Start Planning
Explanation:
The first steps are often the hardest, and you are likely to feel
overwhelmed by the amount of information that needs to be uncovered and
organized. Appoint one member of the
design team as the facilitator and charge that person with keeping things on
track. Take small bites, and give yourself
the time you need to work through all this information. Continue to fight the urge to dive in! Your planning time will ensure you build a
strong foundation that will serve you well in the future.
What to do:
1. CONVENE
your design team, and create a time and place for monthly meetings. Start with the Program Assessment and
Prioritization Tool (Section II – Tool A.1) and begin working your way through
a self-assessment. This tool covers a
lot of ground, so be patient and take each section slowly. You will need time to gather information and
data between meetings. Once completed,
you will have a solid understanding of what elements of your program might
already exist and where your strengths exist.
2. COMMUNICATE
as a way of building support. Talk to
your colleagues informally, but also arrange time for formal presentations to
faculty, the school board, families, local businesses – any group that you
think could support this work. Remember
that school boards and district administrators have MANY things that compete
for their attention, so you need to find a way to make your message stand out and be heard. You might draw parallels with other fields
(for example, would you want a doctor without any real experience to treat
you?). Understanding the local context
is critical, and drawing on local data is more meaningful than using state or
national statistics. One of the most
effective communication strategies is to make a direct connection between
induction and student learning.
3. CONSULT
with others. Get some assistance from
someone who is experienced and understands the process – you may not make as
many mistakes! You should get in touch
with your local education support center or the New Hampshire Department of
Education for guidance, resources, and partnership opportunities.
Resources: Powerpoints and agendas for presentations
on why IWM is important are available from your local education support center,
or directly from the New Hampshire Department of Education.
Advice from the Experienced: Many school districts
need a full year of planning to be ready for implementation. The first year of planning is important for
the SAU team to understand what was driving their decision to implement an IWM
program. How much time is needed for
planning is a direct reflection of the culture of that organization and
anywhere from three months to one year is needed. At a minimum, there needs to be time to
develop a team of individuals who support the IWM program and are invested in
planning, implementation and sustaining it.
The mentor training given once the program is planned also gives further
momentum for projects as they go from planning to implementation and are the
boost needed to gain new investors in the process (like new teachers and
mid-career mentor teachers). Says Deb
Roody, Educational Consultant and IWM Toolkit Facilitator “Mentoring often
comes easy, induction is harder – the idea of supports for new teachers across
all they need to know, from the urgent to the important.”
A scenario:
Initiating
This School District is a rural school
administrative unit (SAU) made up of several small districts, typical in
Western and Northern New Hampshire, has spent the last year planning for the
implementation of an Induction-With-Mentoring program. While there were many conversations about
induction and mentoring and sporadic attempts in different districts, there was
no unifying program for the SAU. Several
teachers at the high school level, where there were some elements in place,
brought together a team under the superintendent’s leadership.
The team of fifteen made of SAU staff and
representatives from each school district went through a yearlong planning
process, guided by a facilitator trained in using the Induction-with-Mentoring
Toolkit. They engaged in introductory
meetings to explain the process and the program model and then learned how to
use the IWM Toolkit as a guide. Through these meetings, they realized they
wanted to get beyond a buddy system and create a program that improved
instruction and student achievement. The
group took stock of what was in place and who was driving decisions through the
use of a summary and prioritization table.
That tool gave the group an opportunity to document their current
program, and their new mission and vision and define an “ideal program” for
their SAU.
Last Word:
Did we impress upon you the importance of creating LOTS of time for
planning and data gathering?
AND GO …
Have you paused and taken stock of the
‘pre-requisites’ and feel like you are ready to move forward? If yes – your next steps should be to pick up
the IWM Toolkit and begin the process of a needs/self-assessment to create a
prioritized action plan for moving forward!
IMPLEMENTATION
REQUIREMENTS:
INITIAL
REQUIREMENTS:
Initial requirements
are those without which an induction-with-mentoring program cannot be successful and should,
therefore, not be attempted:
- A vision or set of desired outcomes for
the program of services
Without
a vision or articulated purpose, the program will devolve into a series of “buddy” relationships that may be supportive
of new teachers, but yield little other benefit. The potential for an induction-with-mentoring
program to be powerful professional development for the classroom practice of
novice, and experienced, teachers is documented; however, this benefit does not
happen automatically. It must be
envisioned, planned for, and supported.
- Authority to establish or operate a
program.
While
the impetus for an induction-with-mentoring program may come from the top or
from the grass roots, it cannot survive in any organized form without an
authority to operate granted by the administration. Ideally there is substantive support and
leadership from building and district administrators.
- A “Champion”
Any
new induction-with-mentoring program needs a champion to envision what the
program will look like, how it will work, and what benefits will be
realized. The champion can come from the
administration or the ranks, but needs the time and support to “make things
happen.” In practice, a program planning
team (or design team ???) team is recommended, because even if there is a
champion, he/she will informally consult others consistently.
- Resources
There
are costs involved to establishing and maintaining an induction-with-mentoring
program such as incentives, training, sub coverage, materials, meeting costs,
etc. There needs to be a commitment to
providing these resources for the long term, even though initial program
support may come from a grant or temporary source.
- Training for Mentors
There
are discrete skills that effective mentors use to help new teachers with their
thinking and practice. Mentors should be
provided with on-going training from a skilled trainer. Training should include orientation to the
responsibilities and expectations of being a mentor and a program should have
some accountability measures. Without
this, there is no program, only a group of well meaning people doing their best
to help new staff; in short, a buddy program.
- Knowledge source
Build
a program on research and best practice.
A great deal of research, knowledge, and effective practices are
available in the literature to guide and assist districts in establishing or
improving induction-with-mentoring programs.
This knowledge can be easily accessed, and should be, when program components
are defined and planned. Frequently,
reference to research or practice described in the literature helps justify
funding, as does local data.
ON-GOING
REQUIREMENTS:
On-going
requirements are those which contribute substantially to the success of a
program and which greatly ease the implementation process.
- Learning focused culture
School
districts that are working toward a culture characterized by learning for all
community members will find the benefits of the induction-with-mentoring program
multiplied exponentially. New staff
assimilate and learn quickly when the whole organization feels responsible for
their learning. For many school
districts, an induction-with-mentoring program contributes to the building of a
learning-focused culture when one does not exist.
- A design team
While
a “champion” can help establish and lead a program, a representative team of
people who raise and address issues of program development create a stronger,
more lasting result. More heads are
better than one.
- Strong district focus and support for
professional development
An
induction-with-mentoring program is
an act of professional development. When
embedded in a context of professional development for all staff, at all levels,
the program integrates more quickly into “the way things are done here” and
doesn’t remain a “nice, but not necessary” add-on.
- Standards for effective teaching
The
intention of mentoring is to directly address classroom practice. Therefore, a
program should clearly define or adopt a standard of effective professional
practice. If there is no accepted definition of what effective practice looks
like, then mentoring activities provide support and help problem solve, but
don’t necessarily achieve effective
practice, as intended.
- Teachers involved who exemplify
effective teaching
Learning
happens by modeling and doing, as well as study and dialog. Without strong models for good teaching, the
program suffers. Having strong models
means a district not only articulates and shares its values and standards for
teaching but also identifies teachers who exemplify those standards. Novices can model poor standards as well as
good ones; make sure those teachers you showcase exemplify what you wish to promote. Great classroom teachers do not by definition
make the best mentors, but they can still model practice and be a resource to
new teachers.
- Involvement of administrators
Ultimately
no program will succeed without strong support from administrators. However, it is the case that a program may
start with administrator sanction and support, but without much
involvement. Over time administrators
must learn and practice their own roles in making the program a success.
- Leadership – Formal and/or informal
leaders
There
needs to be people (i.e. design team) who take responsibility for researching
and sharing ideas, acting on decisions, modeling practices, monitoring and
gathering data, and problem solving. It
takes a whole community to “raise” a new teacher.
- Planning for sustainability
It
is not unusual for an induction-with-mentoring program to be initiated as a
pilot program, with grant monies or some source of financial support other than
the district budget. However, program
leaders (such as champions, design team or administrator??) need to have the
resolve from the beginning to start planning for sustainability. If the intention is that the program will die
away after initial funds are gone, it is questionable whether the program
should be started at all.
Induction-with-mentoring programs do
not run themselves after the initial stages.
- Data collection and program evaluation.
Program
planning, designing, and evaluation of impact require data collection be an
integral part of the program. Moreover,
anything beyond an informal buddy program will require resources and, most
likely, some evidence to prove that the resources spent are “worth it”. Planning for “knowing you got the results you
paid for” starts from the beginning and requires evaluation be an integral part
of the planning process.
How to Use This Toolkit
The materials presented in this Toolkit are not
intended to be an implementable program, rather a list of the necessary
components needed for an effective Induction-with-Mentoring program.
PURPOSES: The IWM Toolkit is designed
for the following purposes:
¨ Assess your current program or services.
¨ Determine collectively where your program is
strong and weak, and the subsequent, strategic steps to be taken to develop
your program.
¨ To provide resources that will help in the
areas where development is needed.
¨ To develop a short and long term plan for
program development.
¨ Identify who will be responsible for
implementing and maintaining the program.
¨ Collect and analyze data.
¨ Provide ongoing opportunities for
evaluation.
Our suggestions for how to use this Toolkit are
these:
1.
Assess
your current program or services using the Program
Standards and Indicators of Progress
With an interested group of administrators
and teachers, review each component and element of the chart and decide which
description best matches your situation.
Guiding questions for self-assessment are included following each
standard, along with the suggestion to record the evidence you have on hand.
For each element or
component ask yourselves, “What is the evidence that makes me, or us, choose
this description?” Be as explicit as
possible as this will help later in the process.
There is no scoring to
achieve in this process. There is no
value to being in one place or another on the chart. It is about objectively looking at your
program and the parts needing development.
The “win” comes when your district has all components in place and is
realizing the goals of an induction program: easing new teachers into the
profession, building a firm foundation of classroom teaching skills, supporting
the kind of experience that keeps teachers in your district, and, of course,
enhancing the performance of students.
2.
Discuss
the evidence identified for each component.
Determine collectively where your program is strong and weak, and the
subsequent, strategic steps to be taken to develop your program
If your district
has any induction/mentoring activity, it is likely that your program matches
descriptions all over the chart. Based on the evidence on which there is
agreement in your group, decide which areas can be left in place for the
moment, which areas need immediate attention to support, or better support,
those services in place, and which components should be longer term development
goals. For example, if your district has mentor services alone, we would advise your
paying immediate attention to the induction aspects of your program. If you have elements of these two components
in place, carefully examine the supports available – release time, incentives,
coverage for observations, for example.
It could be that training in mentoring skills will become a next
priority. Longer term goals may focus
on the systemic components and building a culture of learning and support
within the district.
When your group is
not in agreement about the evidence and what it indicates, spend some time
exploring peoples’ different points of view.
It may be that services are stronger in one building than in another,
which raises questions about development of services in one building versus all
buildings in the district.
3.
Look
for resources that will help in the areas needing development
This toolkit
offers you a variety of resources related to various aspects of program initiation
and development. We have tried to
categorize these resources to expedite use.
You may also find it useful to consult with someone experienced in using
these materials – the state department of education or your local education
support center would be good places to start.
4.
Develop
a short and long term plan for program development
More than likely,
your district can’t do everything at once.
Think of your program as a multi-year development process and plan
accordingly. Set clearly articulated
goals and articulate ways to measure those goals. Your system is making the progress for which
it has planned. No doubt sponsors of
your program – administration, school boards, grant sources – will want to know
what progress has been made.
5.
Identify
who will be responsible for shepherding the program in its continued
development
Developing
induction-with-mentoring services won’t just happen. An individual or group of individuals must be
assigned responsibility for it and be willing to see it through. Because this is a long term endeavor,
expectations should be to support the individual or group over time.
6.
Implement
your plan
Nothing will
happen if nothing happens! (There’s a
bit of wisdom.) Write a plan that won’t
just sit on the shelf but that is written with implementation in mind. Make sure responsibilities and authorities
are clear and that there are incentives for follow through.
Work the
network. We have included information in
this toolkit about other districts in the state that are working to achieve the
same results and are solving the same problems as your district. Get in touch.
Find resources
that have current ideas as well as people willing to engage with your system
about the work. Associations like ASCD
(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) and NSDC (National
Staff Development Council) sponsor induction and mentoring networks of
interested educators all over the
7.
Evaluate
your results
Did your district
achieve progress? Without evaluating your progress, it will be difficult to
report to supporters that their interest and investments have been worth
it. Identify your target goals and
evaluation strategies at the beginning of the process, decide what evidence is
needed and plan ways to gather it. Then
do it, and carefully analyze your data.
Learn from your successes and failures to adjust or improve your
program. This Toolkit is designed to
help your district in this process.
8.
Assess
your program using the Toolkit periodically
Over time develop
more specific descriptions for how certain functions look in your
district. The toolkit is meant to be
generic to apply as broadly as possible.
Check your program once a year against the descriptions here as a way to
help keep your “eyes on the prize” of an established program that achieves all
the intended results.