Standard 3

The Visalia Unified School District serves as the Clear Teacher Credential Induction (TIP) and Clear Administrative Services Credential (CASC) Induction pathway for teachers and administrators who hold preliminary credentials. The programs are designed to incorporate a personalized, job-embedded, two-year experience TIP/CASC relevant to local contexts, local educational priorities, and goals for student learning. Visalia Unified School District (VUSD) student population is 69.8% Hispanic, 17.8% White, and 12.4% other races. According to the California Department of Education (CDE), “high-quality schools are able to differentiate instruction, services, and resource distribution to respond effectively to the diverse needs of students” (“Equity”). VUSD recognizes the diverse makeup of our student population and provides appropriate training to support all student learning.

The induction process consists of continuous improvement guided by an experienced teacher mentor or administrative coach. Teacher mentors and Administrative coaches are required to hold clear credentials and have 3 years of teaching experience or a minimum of 5 years of administrative experience. They are matched with candidates via a collaborative process between the induction program and site and district administration. The program and site leadership consider the following when making mentor matches: subject area, grade level, proximity, personality, and candidate needs and experience.

At the beginning of each year, mentors and coaches sign and review the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) / CASC Coach Application which acts as an agreement and establishes their role as a mentor/coach in the program. Mentors and coaches for both attend a kick-off orientation where they become oriented with their roles as mentors and coaches. They also complete a self-assessment on their own skills as a mentor/coach administered by the Sinclair Group. This assessment is completed again at the end of the year and the data is shared with the program to show growth and areas of need for the mentors and coaches in the program. Throughout the year, both mentors and coaches document their candidate’s progress through their ILP/IIP. The mentors do this in multiple ways such as logging hours of support of inductionsupport.com, as well as completing specific documents (TIP/CASC/CASC) to the program. Mentors in TIP monitor coaching and the progress of their candidate throughout the year on the Mentor’s Individual Coaching Plan. The CASC Coaches complete coaching oberservation/feedback form and coach logs. Both mentors and coaches also attend collaborative induction meetings with their candidates. During these meetings mentors and coaches are able to network and offer support to one another.

At the end of each year, candidates complete an end-of-the-year survey on the effectiveness of the mentor/coach. This survey data is collected by the Sinclair Research Group and is shared with the advisory committee and leadership team to address areas of need and program changes that will be applied for the next year.

Both programs start with a baseline self-assessment using the program’s guiding standards (CSTP/CPSEL). Candidates then evaluate their current practice, reflect on their personal areas of strength and areas of growth which ends up driving their goal setting and cycles of inquiry/ action research. The focused Learning Plan (ILP/IIP) requires candidates to engage in the Plan-Do-Study-Act approach. In this process, participants discuss their areas of strengths and needs. They create goals and reflect on data and job-embedded experiences with their mentors/coaches.

At the end of both the teacher and administrative induction programs, our Year 2 & ECO TIP candidates complete a final ILP/IIP as well as a final self-assessment of their growth and competency on the program standards. They participate in Exit interview presentations (TIP/CASC) which are shared with a panel of district administrators and board members who give feedback on the candidate's evidence of competency through the program. At that time candidates also acknowledge their mentor/coach and share with the panel how their mentor/coach has provided support through the induction program.

Finally, the induction director and team analyze the evidence and feedback on both the Final candidate/coach checklist, Fieldwork Portfolio Review, Culminating Exit Interview Rubric (TIP/CASC), and any other supporting documentation to determine candidate competence and preparedness for a recommendation of a Clear Administrative Services Credential.