New Teacher Induction

​To empower educators to individualize, integrate, innovate and reflect upon their continuing professional development in order to best meet the ever-changing needs of our students, our schools and our community.

We aim to provide new teachers with essential supports and a rewarding experience that builds professional skills, fosters lifelong peer relationships, and establishes positive instructional practices that will impact the lives of all students and their families.

The Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) Teacher Induction Program is a single-district program that uses a blended approach when providing support, professional development, and assessments for new teachers as they transition from pre-service to credentialed teaching.

MUSD Teacher Induction Program is a two year job embedded program available to new General Ed and Special Ed teachers who hold a clear and or preliminary credential and are required to enroll in induction as stated in their credential. Our program emphasizes coaching, guidance and relationship building within the context of continuous cycles of inquiry.

Our program also offers Early Completion Option (ECO) for teachers who are eligible to complete a Commission-approved professional induction program at a faster pace than the standard two year program.

Within 30 days of enrollment to the program, participating teachers are assigned a mentor matched by either grade level, subject matter, specialization, and or compatibility. Mentors who are at the core of our program, spend an average of one hour a week guiding their mentee on their journey of self-reflection and professional development.

Within 60 days of enrollment to the program, beginning teachers with their mentor can expect to collaboratively develop their ILP with input from their site administrator and guidance from the TIP TOSA. The combination of ILP and mentorship empowers our beginning teachers to engage in continuous self reflections, thus fostering professional and personal growth.

Greatness by Design was used as a foundational piece to inform program design. At the core of our two year job-embedded program is the high quality professional learning experiences it offers. Beginning teachers in our program receive individualized and comprehensive professional support through mentoring and professional learning that begins in the teacher’s first year of teaching.

Our program utilizes a mentoring system as the primary support for teachers on this journey. The quality and attention of our mentors has consistently been identified as the strength of our program in our survey data for the past several years. The mentoring model of our Induction Program is based on a sound rationale and provides multiple opportunities for candidates to demonstrate growth in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. The design of our program not only works to develop the capacity of our beginning teachers, but aims to build the capacity of our mentors as well. In addition to after school meetings mentors attend with their mentees, they also attend a day of equity focused Professional Development. Those who mentor teachers in year 2 of the program also attend the Exit Interview and Colloquium.

Features of the mentoring design serves to strengthen both teacher and mentor’s professional practice while contributing to future retention in the profession.

Day 2 of the orientation are personalized and focus on three key components:

1. Overview of MUSD New Teacher Induction Program
2. Breakout Sessions by grade level
   1. Curriculum and Assessment
   2. Aeries Student Information System
   3. Mentor Assignment

Within 60 days of enrollment in the program, all participating teachers work with their mentor and with input from their site administrator create growth goals aligned to site/district goals and develop an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP).

Underlying Philosophy: There are some teachers who have had years of successful teaching experience outside of California and others who have earned their preliminary credential through an intern certificate program. Because participation in intern programs ensures candidates support in their content area/grade level along with professional development, they are often well-suited for an Early Completion Option (ECO). This option is available to better serve experienced and exceptional teachers. For the purposes of identification, exceptional shall be defined by:

1) administrative evaluations that label the teacher’s overall performance as meeting or exceeding standards and

2) a letter of recommendation from the candidate’s current administrator.

Course of Study (Curriculum and Field Work Experience)

Milpitas’ two year job embedded Induction Program utilizes a blended approach that are aligned to standards established by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Course of study for beginning teachers are outlined in the Continuum of Teaching Practice Year 1 to include the following workshops:

• Introduction to:
  • Induction
  • ILP-Purpose and Design
  • ILP and the Cycles of Inquiry
• Overview of:
  • CSTP Standards 1-3
  • Self Assessment Tools
  • Collaboration Logs
• Characteristics of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Impact on Student Learning

Course of study for year 2 participating teachers are outlined in the Continuum of Teaching Practice Year 2 top include the following workshops:

• Overview of:
  • CSTP Standards 4-6
  • Self Assessment Tools
  • Collaboration Logs
  • Portfolio Requirement
• Characteristics of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Impact on Student Learning
• Equity and Systematic Oppression

In order to empower our educators to individualize, integrate, innovate and reflect upon their continuing professional development, so that they can best meet the ever-changing needs of our students, our schools and our community, we have integrated the California Standards for the Teaching Profession to the district rubric, thus resulting a self-assessment tool that helps foster a growth mindset.

Teachers participating in the Milpitas Teacher Induction Program start the year by reviewing the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTPs). During the first year, beginning teachers focus on CSTP Standards 1-3, which is aligned to the district rubric. See table below.

Standard 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning

1.1 Using knowledge of students to engage them in learning.

The amalgamation of the state standards and district rubric empower teachers to reflect on their instructional practices by identifying strengths and opportunities for growth that are aligned to the CSTP. Beginning teachers are required to complete two Continuum of Practice at the beginning and towards the end of the school year. Participating teachers are expected to implement one of the three standards in their ILP while implementing the remaining standards daily in their classroom as they teach and grow through practice. This process is replicated during the second year of the induction program with a focus on CSTP standards 3-6.

Various measures are utilized to determine credential recommendation for each participating teacher to include:

• Satisfactory completion of work based on a rubric for the ILP
• Written or Spoken Journal
• Evidence and Reflections
• Self Assessment

All work is read (and/or watched) and evaluated by one person who is not a mentor for that particular candidate.

• If the candidate earns an unsatisfactory score on more than one assignment, then the work will go on to a second Reader.
• If the candidate again scores unsatisfactorily on more than one assignment, the work will be passed to the Directors of Elementary Education and or Student Services and a member of the appeals committee will then read the work and set up an appointment with the candidate.
• An incomplete assignment will result in immediate review by the Induction TOSA and the appeals committee member for possible appointment and resubmission.
  • At this appointment, the Induction TOSA, the committee member, and the candidate will work together to set goals and devise a timeline for re-submitting the incomplete sections of work. This time frame will not exceed four months, and it must be noted that the next steps in induction cannot begin until the prior year’s work is complete (i.e. Year 2 may not begin before Year 1 work is complete). Also, as per eligibility requirements, if the work is not complete within the first 60 days of the school year, the candidate will be required to wait until the following school year to finish Year 2.
  • During this appointment, the candidate and the team may determine that a series of observations might be beneficial.
  • If the candidate is unable to complete the assignments in the agreed-upon time frame, not to exceed four months, the work will carry over into the new school year with a substitute assignment and new time frame given. Again, it must be noted that the next steps in induction cannot begin until the prior year’s work is complete (i.e. Year 2 may not begin before Year 1 work is complete). Also, as per eligibility requirements, if the work is not complete within the first 60 days of the school year, the candidate will be required to wait until the following school year to finish Year 2.
  • The Exit Interview will not be scheduled until all pieces of the Individualized Learning Plan Journal have been satisfactorily completed.

Program Requirement | Program Sequence | Credential Recommendation