Building an Induction-with-Mentoring Program

1. Building an Induction-with-Mentoring Program What you need to know

2. Welcome! • This presentation has been put together to help you prepare for your role in creating, or strengthening, an induction-with-mentoring program in your school or district. • We will frequently reference you to the NH IWM toolkit -- so hopefully you have your copy handy as we move along.

3. So, who are you? • Induction and mentoring teachers affects just about everyone who works in, or for, a school. What role do you play? And why are you interested in learning more about induction-with-mentoring (IWM) programs?

4. Let’s start with some definitions • We think about IWM as a system or a program that goes beyond ‘just’ mentoring new teachers. It affects: • Hiring and orientation of new teachers • Systematic mentoring of new teachers • An ongoing culture of continual professional development • You will find a glossary and explanation of terms used in the Toolkit in Section IV - starting on page 45

5. New teachers • We also use the term new teachers broadly. It might mean … • Teachers who have just graduated from a teacher ed program • Teachers who have just started teaching through an alternative certification route • But it can also mean .. • Veteran teachers transferring to a new grade or a new school • Veteran teachers working with a new curriculum or new programs

6. Everyone benefits • The purpose of mentoring is to provide ongoing orientation to professional responsibilities and to provide coaching and support for increasing required professional skills. • Everyone benefits from mentoring. • Mentoring is NOT a sign of failure. • Mentoring IS a systematic way of ensuring professional growth. • Induction is a system that supports professional growth for everyone.

7. Your hallway speech • Take a few minutes to think about how you can get your colleagues as excited about working on IWM as you are. What do you want to tell people? • Why is IWM important to you? • What do you want to change? • What do you want your colleague to do?

8. Create three points (no more!) that you want your listener to remember. • Write out, and practice, your ‘speech’. • Keep it to three minutes or less. • Use it! In the hallways, parking lots, wherever you can find a willing ear.

9. Creating a team • You can’t do this work alone! IWM is a complicated task that affects many people. One ‘champion’ for the program is good, many are better. • You are also going to need input from many different viewpoints. No one person can understand the whole system.

10. Who are your champions? • You want to build a broad base of support from many different areas -- • Teachers • Administrators • Central office • Students • Families

11. Build a working group • Build a group of champions who are willing to work together to get things started • A core group will emerge • Ask participants to commit to this group for one year • Use your ‘hallway’ speech to recruit new members

12. Anticipate your barriers • Recruiting your friends will be easy. But think about the people or systems that are going to be harder to persuade. • Who will your most vocal critics or blockers be? Making the time to talk things through with them early on will help. • Consider inviting the ‘blockers’ to be part of your committee. You might be surprised at what they have to offer. Minimally, you will hear their concerns while they are small and can still be addressed.

13. Getting started • Getting started is the hardest part, and keeping things going is the second hardest part. • You may find an outside facilitator very helpful. Someone from the outside who is paid to pay attention to IWM can help ensure that time is allocated and tasks are completed.

14. Pause and reflect • Are you committed to working on this project, and do you have enough people on-board to get started? • Your first group meeting(s) should address this question openly. • Get specific commitments for time and set a schedule of meetings for the year, as well as a place to meet. • Plan on getting together at least once a month. • Providing refreshments for meetings helps participants feel at home and valued.

15. Getting Started • You’ve gathered all your champions together - now it’s time to get down to business! Your first group task is to create a vision of success. • What do we hope an IWM program will accomplish for us? Why are we interested in doing this work?

16. Everyone wants to get started on building -- but first you need to know WHY you want to build something at all! • You will find the “ARE YOU READY” section of the Toolkit (page 10) a helpful guide at this point.

17. A vision and purpose for the program • Without a vision or articulated purpose, the program will devolve into a series of buddy relationships that may be supportive for some new teachers but yield little other benefit. • This is a CRITICAL step and it may take several meetings to arrive at consensus.

18. Knowing your destination • Are you a skilled facilitator who can help the working group craft a vision? • Some excellent resources to help you prepare are:

19. Some resources on creating a vision • Collaboration Handbook, by Michael Winer and Karen Ray (2000) • A great resource to help facilitate groups and committees • Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations by Allison Kaye (2003) • Includes tools to help with the visioning process • The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge (2006) • A resource to help build a learning organization

20. Are we ready? • In the front section of the Toolkit, you will find detailed information on the steps you should take to begin your planning … getting ready to get started.

21. Questions to consider … • Why do we want to have a program? • What results do we want? • What evidence will show us we have realized our goal? • What do we have in place already? • Who (or what) is driving this discussion and decision?

22. Resources • Do we have the resources (time, money) we need in place? Or do we know where to get them? • Do we have the support of the school board and the larger community? Or do we have a plan to get them?

23. Get set to go … • Communicate and build support • Decide who will be served, and for how long • Start building your structure • Develop an evaluation plan • Think systemically!

24. Before you pick up the hammer • Pause and reflect once again -- you are almost ready to really dive into the nuts and bolts of implementing a quality program

25. Do you have the essentials? • A vision or purpose for the program • Authority to establish a program • A program champion • Resources for the program • Mentor training available • A knowledge source

26. And the recommended … Things to have in place that will contribute to the ultimate success of your program

27. Recommended requirements • A learning focused culture • A design team • A strong district focus on PD • Standards for effective teaching • Strong models of good teaching • Involved administrators • Leadership • A mindset for sustainability • A mindset for ongoing evaluation

28. You are ready … • To begin building a high quality program. The IWM toolkit has been designed to be your guiding partner over the life of this program.

29. Your design team should review each element of a quality program and decide how you might rate your current level of services. Section I of the toolkit will walk you through each element Assess your current program or services

30. Discuss the evidence identified for each component. This will help you determine where your current program is strong and weak. This important steps helps lay the groundwork for your strategic planning. Tools in Section II will help you see the ‘big picture’ across all the elements. Discuss the evidence

31. Think of your program as a multi-year activity Choose areas or elements to focus on - don’t try and do everything at once Remember to build on areas of strength. These might give you a large return on a small investment and help generate good feelings about the more difficult areas to tackle Develop a short and long term plan

32. Use the toolkit • The IWM toolkit is meant to be used over the life of your program. It provides, or points you to, most of the materials you will need • Come back and self-assess periodically. Self-assessment is an involved process, but it is the best way to keep you on a path of continual improvement.

33. Reach out and network • Learn from and with other schools and districts. • The LESCs are a valuable resource for you in this area. • The NH DOE is a valuable resource.