Entering the teaching profession is a wonderful undertaking. Our brand new teachers come into our district eager, able, and ready to make a difference in the lives of the children in Woodford County. We believe it is critical to provide our first-year teachers with a strong, structured, support system. “We want our students to be fortunate to have a first-year teacher who is working so intentionally on their practice. Our [induction program] has the supports in place to make sure their first year teaching is just as powerful as that of a veteran teacher,” said Jimmy Brehm, Chief Academic Officer for Woodford County Public Schools.
Woodford’s New Teacher Induction Program was put into effect in 2018 after changes to the state’s budget did not allow for the state-wide, new teacher program to continue. Brehm and Misty Higgins, who currently works for the Kentucky Department of Education, created the program based on the foundation of the National Board Certification process for teachers. This process requires teachers to implement a set criteria of educational practices and principles and to track the results from these. Likewise, Brehm and Higgins wanted our new teachers to have a clear criteria to enact and to see the positive results.
To begin the program, each new teacher is paired with an experienced, mentor teacher at their school. Brehm explained, “We want the new teachers to have someone to go to in a non-evaluative manner to ask questions throughout their first year of teaching.” The mentor and mentee meet together at least twice per month, observe each other’s classroom instruction, participate in professional learning sessions, and more. A New Teacher Growth Portfolio must also be completed.
Though there are these outlined expectations of the program, Geoffrey Sprinkle, a teacher at the middle school and mentor, said he really appreciates the flexibility that the program allows. “There are options with observation. It wasn’t just that I would go observe [my mentee] and she would observe me; we had the opportunity to go together to observe other teachers with different teaching styles.” Noel Endicott, a first-year teacher at Huntertown Elementary, agrees with this sentiment. She remarked, “It can be structured around where I feel I need extra help. There are moments when I just need to talk it out or need advice on [specific issues].”
Additionally, Allie Hall, a second-year teacher at Huntertown Elementary, is grateful for how her mentor has helped her implement strategies that she didn’t learn in college or student teaching. “My mentor helped me a lot with planning and organization and how to organize lesson plans so that I can be successful in the coming years.” Ms. Hall’s second year of teaching is off to a strong start, in large part due to the organizational practices that Jackie Richardson, Ms. Hall’s mentor, instilled within her last year.
When asked about the New Teacher Induction Program, Summer Amro, a second-year teacher at the high school, said, “[The instructional aspect of the program that] the district provided was very useful. It was professional development...it would have been beneficial for any teacher...I learned a lot that I still use and will use for my entire teaching career.”
In regards to the success of the program in its first year, Ms. Hall said, “It’s beneficial because of our extremely talented, veteran teachers. My mentor went above and beyond.” She continued, “The veteran teachers aren’t complacent; they are always growing and moving forward. The mentors are so willing to learn from the mentees, as well. I’ve helped my mentor with the implementation of new technology that I learned in college, and she’s helped me with practices that she’s done for years. She’s been teaching for 30 years and is still willing to learn from me, and I know a lot of the mentees feel the same.”
There are many positive outcomes for having such a fantastic program in place. Mr. Brehm noted student achievement, teacher recruitment, and teacher retention as three of the biggest reasons why this initiative is so important for Woodford County Public Schools. Additionally, this program is completely unique to our district. New teachers can come into Woodford schools knowing that there is a non-evaluative, teacher-support program in place for their betterment and for the benefit of our students. We believe that our New Teacher Induction Program is designed to ensure the best for our students by supporting and valuing our teachers. Ms. Amro remarked, “The fact that the district puts time and money into investing in their new teachers says everything. When you feel invested in, you feel appreciated.”
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