Northwest Sampler: By Request...

The following are descriptions of three beginning teacher assistance programs. Two are district-run programs (in Washington and Oregon), and one is a National Science Foundation collaborative to support beginning mathematics and science teachers in Montana. These Northwest programs represent just a few of the many promising efforts found around the region. Included with the descriptions are contact information, observed outcomes, and keys to each program's success. Also included are examples of how unions and state departments are supporting beginning teachers.

Montana

Montana Systemic Teacher Excellence Preparation (STEP) Program

eswanson@montana.edu

Description

The numbers of those receiving mathematics and science teaching certification in Montana have held steady at about 75 during each of the last five years. Montana produces a surplus of new teachers each year, with half of those certified obtaining jobs in-state and the other half seeking positions elsewhere. Yet, high attrition rates, reaching 30 percent per year in some rural districts, have created awareness of the need for a support system for new teachers. The STEP program's goal is to provide early career support and training throughout the state and serve as a model for other rural states. The program is a statewide alliance of the Montana University System, tribal community colleges, the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the Montana Science Teachers Association. The project was initially funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), but receives significant support from the state university system. It is one of the 32 NSF Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP).

STEP's Early Career (EC) mentoring program is in its sixth year. The mentoring program provides mentors to first- through fourth-year elementary mathematics and science teachers throughout the state. The mentoring program builds on the project's first phase, which began in 1993. This phase included the comprehensive reform of mathematics, science, and education curricula, as well as field experiences for future teachers attending Montana's universities and tribal colleges. The mentor training model adopted by STEP was initially based on the state of Connecticut's Beginning Educator Support and Training Program (B.E.S.T.), but now incorporates elements from many programs. STEP's distance delivery model for new teacher mentoring was developed to fit Montana's rural context.

A statewide application process matches up mentors and EC teachers. Since the program's start six years ago, 90 trained mentors have served 275 early career teachers. Currently the program has 45 EC teachers and 37 mentors. Since 75 new science and mathematics teachers, and around 450 elementary teachers, graduate from Montana state universities each year, this number of EC teachers in the mentor program is significant.

This distance-based model of mentoring is used because many of the EC teachers work in remote areas spread over the large, rural state, where they are often the only mathematics or science teacher in the school. The ECs and mentors meet initially in small groups, and then primarily communicate by e-mail (using the state's education telecommunications network, METNET), by phone, and through facilitated online discussions in small groups of 8-10 ECs and mentors. Elisabeth Swanson, the program's director, says that telementoring provides teachers with a resource to ask for help outside their district, which allows them to maintain a sense of autonomy and of belonging to a statewide professional community. The majority of STEP ECs, whether teaching in a rural or urban community, state that they prefer an out-of-district STEP mentor so they can discuss problems openly, yet maintain privacy.

Because mathematics and science teachers are so isolated in Montana, and have little support, a goal for this program is to help beginning teachers be more autonomous, resourceful, and confident. Part of this is teaching them how to be more reflective in their learning process, and to come up with solutions on their own.

Another goal has been to retain Native American students in mathematics and science teaching. "Thirteen percent of Montana's K-12 student population is Native American," remarks Swanson, "but when this project began in 1993, only five of the state's 1,500 secondary mathematics and science teachers were Native American." As a result of mentoring, summer institutes, and a scholarship program, almost 150 Native American students now have completed or are making progress toward elementary and secondary certification. Every year four or five ECs in the mentoring program are Native American. In addition to the mentoring support through the project, tribal colleges have STEP-affiliated faculty members who work closely with beginning Native teachers.

Observed Outcomes

Early career teachers:

Focus on how to teach, not what to teach.
Engage students in active inquiry and problem solving.
Are more open to trying new teaching methods.
Collaborate with peers and master teachers.
Learn how to design and implement multiple assessments.

Keys to Success

Make sure mentors:

Go through a training program to increase their effectiveness.
Teach the same content areas and grade levels (when possible).
Establish trust with their early career teachers via such methods as conducting reciprocal interviews using specially designed guidebooks.
Work to help teachers learn to develop solutions to their own problems.

Washington

Kent School District Mentor Program

lrice@kent.k12.wa.us

Description

The Kent School District Mentor program provides professional development, encouragement, and support for all teachers and specialists new to the Kent School District, especially beginning teachers. Almost two-thirds of the funding for the program comes from the school district, another third comes from the state's teacher assistance program, and the rest comes from a pilot grant. Currently 110 beginning teachers, four experienced teachers, 52 specialist mentors, and three full-time Mentor Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) are enrolled in the program.

Each classroom teacher and specialist new to the district is assigned a partner teacher for one year. The partner teachers, who are selected and assigned by the principal, meet weekly with the new teacher, usually during their grade-level weekly planning time or before and after school. Partner teachers receive two hours of paid inservice. They do not make classroom observations.

In addition to partner teachers, Mentor Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) are assigned to each beginning K-12 classroom teacher. They provide staff development and coordination for all aspects of the Mentor Program. TOSAs provide a minimum of four classroom observations, and provide drop-in and regularly scheduled visits. Beginning education specialists are also assigned mentors. The mentors communicate weekly with the beginning teacher, providing encouragement and support, as well as curriculum and instruction resources. The mentors must complete four classroom observations and coordinate an individual professional growth plan with each teacher. Mentors do not perform any evaluations.

The Mentor program offers several classes taught both by the TOSAs and by other district teachers. All the classes are offered for credit. Topics include classroom strategies for beginning teachers, classroom management, math for beginning teachers, grading and parent conferences, and diversity.

Kent's program has received high accolades from the Office of Public Instruction. Fortunately, says Linda Rice, facilitator of the program, the district strongly believes in providing assistance to beginning teachers during their provisional contract time, and has consistently funded the program.

Rice, who is a full-time Mentor on Special Assignment, emphasizes that because effective teaching increases student achievement, it is vitally important to provide support to beginning teachers. It is also important that mentors receive quality training in best practices of teaching standards, classroom management, curriculum and assessment, and coaching. Rice suggests that qualities of an effective mentor include being a recognized skilled leader, passionate about students and learning; a professional role model; an effective communicator and listener; sensitive to the needs of the mentee; and trained in cognitive coaching.

Observed Outcomes

Beginning teachers:

Demonstrate more effective classroom management strategies; they are more consistent, confident, and effective in dealing with student behavior and in establishing classroom rules, procedures, and consequences.
Understand and use the reading and math curricula more effectively.
Have a greater sense of efficacy in grading and parent conferences.
Experiment with making their lessons interactive and engaging.
Practice self-reflection as a strategy to improve their instruction.
Demonstrate a greater knowledge of the characteristics, skills, and abilities of the age group they teach.
Feel supported, have a place to get all their questions answered, know there's a listening ear for their concerns, and are reassured that all beginning teachers are in the same boat — they are not alone.

Keys to Success

Take time to build trust and rapport.
Reassure beginners that you are not their evaluator — merely there to make their life easier.
Meet weekly with beginners at first; then decide who needs you the most and schedule accordingly.
Limit full-time caseload to 12-15 beginners per mentor.
Make sure mentors receive quality training.
Move beyond emotional support to professional growth.

Oregon

Portland Public Schools Beginning Teacher Mentor Program

jarkes@pps.k12.or.us

Description

Portland Public School's Beginning Teacher Mentoring Program is a "systematic and coordinated effort to provide support to beginning teachers during their first year in the teaching profession."

Program goals are:

To assist beginning teachers in understanding the complexities of teaching through the support of a mentor teacher who will act as coach, resource, role model, and facilitator.

To provide both mentors and beginning teachers professional development in standards-based instruction.

To provide training opportunities focused on the needs of beginning teachers.

To provide a support network to help integrate beginning teachers and make district, building, and community resources available to them.

To promote and encourage peer support and peer coaching at the school level.

To provide experienced teachers opportunities for professional growth.

To provide resources and ongoing support to encourage the retention of beginning teachers in the district.

Both mentors and beginning teachers are selected through an application process. One mentor is assigned to each beginning teacher in the program (for the year 2000-2001, there were 40 mentor teams). Whenever possible, mentors and mentees are from the same school, and teach the same grade and/or subject area. Mentors and beginning teacher teams have weekly contact (90 hours per year). Demonstration teaching, coaching, instructional support (procedures, lesson planning, strategies, etc.), and moral support are all part of this contact. In addition, mentor teams attend and participate in monthly team meetings, fall orientation workshops, and other training sessions.

The mentor's role is to act as a guide, coach, role model, resource, facilitator/trainer, and colleague to the beginning teacher. Mentors are selected based on established successful teaching experience, demonstrated exemplary ability in providing appropriate instructional tools to students, and having effective planning strategies, subject matter knowledge, and a mastery of effective teaching strategies. Mentors receive training in peer team coaching strategies and guidelines for being effective role models and mentors.

Jane Arkes, the program's coordinator, emphasizes the "almost endless" needs of beginning teachers. "New teachers almost always romanticize the role of a teacher," says Arkes. "They begin with strong feelings of 'making a difference' and are usually very idealistic about how to achieve their goals. They are almost immediately hit with a lot of expectations and problems that they did not anticipate."

For example, experienced teachers may assume new teachers know certain things, such as how to prepare for parent conferences, and when they don't know, novice teachers become additionally stressed, feeling inadequate. Therefore, emotional/psychological support from mentors and administrators is as important, and perhaps even more important, than instruction-related support. Arkes emphasizes that novice teachers need "practice and good caring guidance" from mentors who are good listeners and who make them figure out solutions to their own problems.

In addition to the formal mentoring program, other means of support are available for beginning teachers. All new teachers to the district are paid to attend a three-day orientation prior to the beginning of school. In the fall, a five-session survival skills inservice class is offered. Each new teacher is given a teacher handbook that contains a variety of useful information: how to order a substitute, tips on discipline, suggestions for working with parents, etc.

Observed Outcomes

Teams indicate that they value the time to work together; coaching and classroom visits are critical parts of the program.
Attendance is high at the monthly meetings.
Participants indicate on evaluations that meeting topics are right on target with their most pressing needs.

Keys to Success

The district must make a financial commitment to the mentor program for it to be successful.
The coordinator must be allowed adequate time to devote to the program without the burden of additional responsibilities.
All departments in the district should be made aware of the needs of beginning teachers and of the responsibility each has in providing information and support.
Goals and guidelines should be well-defined.
Mentors should be paid for giving time to work with novice teachers.