New Teachers | Teacher Mentors | Teachers

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New Teacher Induction Program

The BCPS New Teacher Induction Program provides comprehensive support to newly hired teachers.  New teachers receive stipends for participating in summer orientation and after school workshops.  Workshops are differentiated for first and second year teachers as well as by teaching level (elementary, middle and high school).  Teacher mentors provide job-embedded professional development at identified schools and teach after school workshops for new teachers throughout the school system.

The fundamental goals of the New Teacher Induction Program are to:

• Support new teachers in meeting the needs of all students. 
• Retain newly hired teachers in BCPS.
• Improve the performance of newly hired teachers.

New Teacher Induction Program offerings include:

• Comprehensive orientation program
• Seminar focused on instructional practices, content, communicating with parents, compliance, technology integration, networking, and classroom management
• After-school workshops focused on content, cooperative learning, and classroom management
• Formal mentoring program at identified schools
• Access to a Professional Research Library
• Access to a New Teacher Resource Portal
• Access to the Resource Centers for Families and Schools (make-and-take centers)
• Certification courses offered through College and University Partnerships 
• Continuing professional development courses (CPD)
• Online professional development Courses

• To increase student achievement by improving teacher effectiveness and daily instruction.
• To retain capable new teachers by increasing new teacher satisfaction with their teaching experience.

Program Overview
The Teacher Mentor Program plays a significant role in promoting and analyzing teacher effectiveness in the classroom.  Teacher mentors focus on effective instruction and the impact that instruction has on student success.  The program specifically supports new teachers with full-time teacher mentors providing intensive on-site assistance in the following areas:

• Instruction
• Assessment
• Classroom management
• Interpersonal communication
• Lesson observation and non-evaluative feedback
• Lesson plan development and unit plan development
• Resources for successful classroom instruction

Teacher mentors are instructional "generalists" who do not participate in the formal evaluation process though they observe instruction with administrators and are trained in giving instructional feedback.  They are selected through a rigorous application process which includes a screening interview, references, and a writing sample.  Selected teacher mentors become part of a pool of candidates from which principals of identified schools interview and choose a teacher mentor for their school.  Teacher mentors are allocated to schools based upon the number of new and non-tenured teachers.
Monthly professional development for teacher mentors focuses on the components of effective instruction, planning observation/feedback, assessment, curriculum, technology, and classroom management.  Teacher mentors participate in an e-community in order to extend their learning between professional development sessions and collaborate to share best practices.

 

Teachers