Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) requires that all new teachers participate in a three-year mentoring and induction program. Mentor support includes "offering classroom management and instructional strategies to improve teaching success...(as well as) observing classrooms and providing feedback regularly."
However, this applies only to DCPS and is not state-level policy.
Ensure that a high-quality mentoring experience is available to all new teachers, especially those in low-performing schools.
The District of Columbia should ensure that all new teachers—and especially any teacher in a low-performing school—receive mentoring support, especially in the first critical weeks of school.
Set specific parameters.
To ensure that all teachers receive high-quality mentoring, the District should specify how long the program lasts for a new teacher, who selects the mentors and a method of performance evaluation.
Require induction strategies that can be successfully implemented, even in poorly managed schools.
To ensure that the experience is meaningful, the District of Columbia should guarantee that induction includes strategies such as intensive mentoring, seminars appropriate to grade level or subject area and a reduced teaching load and/or frequent release time to observe other teachers.
The District of Columbia pointed out that state-level policy requires mentoring support for participants in state-approved alternate route programs.
Although it is critically important to support new alternate route teachers, the District should consider expanding its requirement to include all new teachers.