Guidelines for Mentor Teacher Programs - VDOE

1 Guidelines forMentor Teacher Programsfor Beginning andExperienced TeachersGuidelines Developed in Responseto the education Accountability andQuality Enhancement Act of 1999(HB 2710 and SB 1145)Approved by the Board of EducationJune 22, 2000 Division of Teacher education and LicensureDepartment of Box 2120 Richmond, VA 23218-21201 Guidelines for Mentor Teacher ProgramsGuidelines forMentor Teacher Programsfor Beginning and ExperiencedTeachersGuidelines Developed in Response to theEducation Accountability and Quality Enhancement Act of 1999(HB 2710 and SB 1145)Approved by the Board of EducationJune 22, 2000 Division of Teacher education and LicensureDepartment of Box 2120 Richmond, VA 23218-21202 Guidelines for Mentor Teacher ProgramsAcknowledgementsPersonnel in the virginia department of education acknowledge with apprecia-tion the contributions of many educators who developed local Mentor Programs andshared their knowledge gained from experience in the development of the guide-lines.

2 The department of education also acknowledges the tireless work of theSuperintendent s Task Force on the Establishment of a Statewide Teacher MentorProgram representing principals, teachers, school division central offices, and for Mentor Teacher ProgramsThe 1999 virginia General Assembly enacted the education Accountabilityand Quality Enhancement Act (HB 2710 and SB 1145) aimed at supporting educator productivity and accountability. The elements of thelegislation include the evaluation and training of teachers, assistant principals,principals, central office personnel, and superintendents; salary supplements forteachers receiving National Board Certification; and the mentoring of new teachersand those experiencing difficulties as part of the training continuum for all legislation amended the Code of virginia Mentor Teacher Pro-grams as follows:The Board of education shall establish, from suchfunds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly, Mentor Teacher Programs utilizing specially trainedpublic school teachers as mentors to provide assistanceand professional support to teachers entering theprofession and to improve the performance of experi-enced teachers who are not performing at an acceptablelevel.

3 The Board shall issue Guidelines for such mentorteacher Programs and shall set criteria for beginningand experienced Teacher participation, including self-referral, and the qualifications and training of mentorteachers. Such Guidelines shall provide that the mentorprograms be administered by local school boards, withthe assistance of an advisory committee made up ofteachers and administrators, and that mentors (i) beclassroom teachers who have achieved continuingcontract status and who work in the same building asthe teachers they are assisting or be instructionalpersonnel who are assigned solely as mentors; (ii) beassigned a limited number of teachers at any time;however, instructional personnel who are not assignedsolely as mentors should not be assigned to more thanfour teachers at any time; and (iii) guide teachers in theprogram through demonstrations, observations, andconsultations to promote instructional school boards shall strive to provide adequaterelease time for Mentor teachers during the contract for Mentor Teacher ProgramsBackgroundSince 1985, a variety of Programs have been implemented throughout Virginiato support beginning -1991 The Beginning Teacher Assistance Program (BTAP), initiated in 1985 asthe first support program for beginning teachers, evolved into a perfor-mance assessment required for licensure.

4 BTAP was rescinded by theGeneral Assembly in Colleague Teacher Project for Chesterfield and Fairfax Counties pilotedthe concept of the colleague or Mentor virginia General Assembly passed House Bill No. 1085 that establishedguidelines for the training of cooperating teachers in the supervision ofstudent teachers. The bill also proposed that cooperating teachers bedesignated as clinical faculty, and be granted special status by colleges General Assembly allocated funds to the State Council on HigherEducation for virginia (SCHEV) to implement and evaluate clinical facultyprograms that operated over a three-year department of education commissioned a qualitative field study of thethree-year, clinical faculty projects. The ensuing report suggested that clinical faculty training is similar to preparation for Mentor teachers. Itwould be cost-effective to combine the two Programs giving classroomteachers an opportunity to assist either new teachers or student teachers.

5 5 Guidelines for Mentor Teacher Programs1989 and1991 Two Mentor Teacher institutes were 1996 session of the General Assembly appropriated $300,000 for 1996 -1998, $150,000 for each year of the biennium; 31 school divisions estab-lished Mentor Teacher Programs that supported more than 2,000 newteachers during the two-year General Assembly appropriated $75,000 for the State Council of HigherEducation (SCHEV) to request proposals from Clinical Faculty Partner-ships between institutions of higher education and local school were issued to the Mid-Valley Consortium for Teacher Educationand the Regional Clinical Faculty Program in northern General Assembly appropriated $ million for the 1998-2000biennium for Clinical Faculty and Mentor Teacher Programs , $500,000 thefirst year and $700,000 the second year of the biennium; twenty partner-ships between local school divisions and institutions of higher educationwere Joint Resolution (HJR) 117 was enacted requesting the Departmentof education to study the feasibility of implementing a statewide, one-yearinduction program as the first year of teaching following the completion ofa Teacher education program.

6 A study issued in response to HJR 117 statedthat, if appropriately funded, a year-long induction program for newteachers was virginia General Assembly appropriated an additional $300,000 formentor Teacher Programs . The education Accountability and QualityEnhancement Act of 1999 was enacted requiring a Mentor for everybeginning Teacher . A Mentor Teacher Task Force was appointed by the6 Guidelines for Mentor Teacher ProgramsSuperintendent of Public Instruction to develop Guidelines for the imple-mentation of Mentor Programs on a statewide basis. The Report of theTask Force on the Establishment of a Statewide Mentor Teacher Programwas presented to the Board of education on November 18, the adoption of the education Accountability and QualityEnhancement Act requiring a Mentor for every beginning Teacher , theSuperintendent of Public Instruction appointed a Mentor Teacher TaskForce to develop Guidelines for the implementation of Mentor Programs ona statewide basis.

7 The Report of the Task Force on the Establishment of aStatewide Mentor Teacher Program was presented to the Board of Educa-tion on November 18, 1999. The report outlined essential components of amentor program and recommended increased funding for statewideimplementation. The General Assembly allocated a total of $2,750,000 formentor Teacher and clinical faculty Programs for the 2000-2002 of Mentor ProgramsThe reality of work in a public school classroom - applying theoretical knowl-edge, developing effective instructional strategies, meeting individual student sneeds, incorporating changing curriculum frameworks, developing high stakesassessment, integrating emerging technology, and remaining sensitive to societalissues - may be one of the most challenging transitions faced by teachers in theirentire professional Programs help beginning teachers make a successful transition intoteaching by relying on the expertise of veterans to provide a clinical, real-worldtraining process.

8 Districts that provide effective support attract the most capablecandidates, who remain on the job and improve student teachers who are mentored receive higher ratings from their principals,develop better planning skills, handle discipline problems more effectively, conductmore productive classroom discussion, and remain in classrooms longer than7 Guidelines for Mentor Teacher Programsteachers who are simply left to sink or swim. Veteran teachers who serve asmentors report increased professional revitalization, less isolation, greater recogni-tion, and a belief that they impact the profession more than teachers who are notinvolved in mentoring new of Mentor ProgramsSuccessful Mentor Programs begin at the local level. Effective Programs arecharacterized by strong leadership and management. The benefits of mentorprograms show a direct correlation to their intensity, , the more Programs provide,the greater their success.

9 Programs that are not well-planned and delivered can becounterproductive half-way measures result in increased stress for beginningteachers and a regression to less effective teaching standards and greater accountability are increasing the demand forqualified teachers. The National Center for education Statistics predicts thatapproximately million teachers will be needed by 2008. Although many factorsare contributing to the shortage increased birth and immigration rates, an agingteacher force, reduced class size the most troubling factor is that both novice andveteran teachers are leaving the profession or never enter the classroom. Nationally, of public school teachers leave before they complete their first year and nearly30% leave the profession within five years of entry. Rural and high poverty districtsexperience even higher rates of attrition. Often the first to leave are the mostacademically a well-educated and talented Teacher in the first year of teaching is atragic loss.

10 Losing a talented Teacher because of inadequate support and guidanceduring the early years is a tragic loss that can be for Mentor Teacher ProgramsGuidelines for theDevelopment of Mentor ProgramsThese Guidelines were developed in response to the education Accountabilityand Quality Enhancement Act of 1999 (HB 2710 and SB 1145) and also reflect thework of the Superintendent s Task Force on Mentor Teacher Programs . They areintended to provide guidance to school boards in the meeting the following responsi-bilities:Establish program objectives;Manage the local Mentor program;Develop the program design;Develop Mentor selection criteria;Establish school administrator responsibilities;Develop Mentor training; andEvaluate the effectiveness of the Mentor Program ObjectivesThe education Accountability and Quality Enhancement Act of 1999 requiresall local school boards to provide probationary teachers, except those who have priorsuccessful Teacher experience (as determined by the local school board), a mentorteacher.