Induction+&+Orientation

The Teacher Induction Program is a state-approved professional competence demonstration program required to obtain Florida Professional Educator Certification and is in compliance with the requirements of K-12 Education Code, § 1012.56 (7)(b) and (2)(a) - (f)(2009). The mission of the Teacher Induction Program is to provide a supportive, structured program that will foster growth and commitment to excellence in teaching. The program is designed to assist and support teachers new to a school district through a differentiated support network. Differentiated programs will be provided to new teachers based on their level of experience, teacher preparation, and interest. The overall goal is to increase student learning by providing supervised support services for new teachers during the first three years of teaching in Florida and to assist in their continuance of professional development.

New teachers hired before the start of the school year will be required to attend the district's New Teacher Training and Orientation (NTTO). At this training, teachers receive information on district policies and procedures and curriculum and other resources on how to prepare for the beginning of the school year. All program participants should complete the Teacher Induction Program within the first 180 days of teaching, although support services continue for a minimum of three total teaching years to increase teacher retention, skill level, and effectiveness in increasing student learning (Wayne, 2005).

Each new teacher has a school-based resource team to provide support throughout their first three years of teaching. The resource team consist of the principal, who provides strong communication, Professional Development Facilitator (PDF), who coordinates for TIP at each school, a master level school-based mentor, who is a classroom teacher and/or school based instructional coach in the same content area trained to observe and coach new teachers, and a District Cadre representative, who is a master teacher responsible for supporting novice teachers and making sure that they understand the TIP Program and the requirements. In addition, a variety of targeted Teacher Induction workshops and other district based curriculum and instruction, technology, and behavior management professional development workshops are provided in both face to face and online formats as a further support system at differentiating levels. For teachers with temporary teaching certificates, support is offered throughout the process to ensure all district and state requirements are met in a timely manner. All formal and informal observations, mentor/mentee meetings, workshop certificates of completion and activities will become a part of the new teacher's official Teacher Induction Program portfolio. (Wayne, 2005)

During the completion of this program, each mentee and mentor are provided substitutes for up to 10 days for each school year. This time is to be used for release of beginning teachers and/or peer teachers to observe, counsel, and to support the Teacher Induction Program activities and workshops. Providing this degree of support correlates with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act which requires state departments of education to publicly report what they are doing to improve teacher quality.

As an added component of the Teacher Induction process, the Professional Development Facilitator is responsible for creating and maintaining Professional Learning Communities that bring together experienced and new teachers to build teacher capacity while providing a structure for student learning. These teams can be grade level or vertical and should meet either weekly or bi-weekly. In this mentoring capacity, the mentee is able to collaborate to design powerful lessons, observe other teachers, and receive input on analyzing student data to ensure that students are learning. (Moir, 2009)