Embedded Files
New Teacher Orientation can serve all new certificated teachers and non-teachers (psychologists, counselors, speech therapists, intervention specialists, etc.). The purpose is to immerse the district's newly-hired educators into the culture of the district and their respective school site. Here are some examples of target areas that can be addressed in the NTO:
- Introduction to management, site administration and fellow educators
- District mission, vision and assorted mandates
- Content specific curriculum, pacing guides, resources
- District and site-level platforms (Synergy, Zoom, GoGuardian, Google Suites, etc.)
- HR matters including social media training
- Personnel matters including 125 plans, payroll, CalSTRS, health plans
- New teacher training in the areas of classroom management and making connections
- On site orientation and time to locate resources, make connections with department personnel and the front office
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
A collaborative environment in which educators work in "recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve" (Edutopia, 2020) . PLCs at the site level often refer to teachers with common curriculum working during assigned, often weekly meetings to discuss curriculum, analyze data, create and examine assessments and participate in lesson inquiry cycles.
Teacher Residency
A decades old concept and alternative pathway to teaching that is gaining traction in California. Teacher residency was created during the 1970s on the East coast in response to a rapidly declining pool of eligible teachers applying for teaching positions. The concept was for districts to pay student teacher candidates a stipend, and other benefits such as health care, and tuition reimbursement with an agreement that the candidate would promise a 3-5 year employment commitment to the district upon the completion of the program.
Induction through an accredited program in conjunction with a skilled support specialist at the district level can reap significant rewards when it comes to teacher retention. The district-level support person can oversee the assignment of mentor teachers, act as a liaison with the district, program and teacher, and offer mentorship at the district-level to insure procedures are followed and mandates are met.
Professional Development that is strategically focused on topics most needed by new teachers can often be found at the local county office of education. PD on a variety of topics which may include:
Classroom Management
Building connections with students
Designing lesson plans and lesson delivery
IEP writing and IEP coordinating (SPED only)
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