Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
Florida only requires that some of its new teachers receive mentoring. Only teachers completing an alternative certification program are required to have a mentor. Adjunct (part-time) teachers are no longer required to be assigned to a peer mentor by their principal for the first year of employment.
National Board-certified teachers who serve as mentors are eligible for a bonus equal to 10 percent of the prior fiscal year's statewide average salary for classroom teachers.
Ensure that a high-quality mentoring experience is available to all new teachers, especially those in low-performing schools.
Although Florida does provide mentoring to teachers in its alternative certification program, the state should ensure that all new teachers—especially any teacher in a low-performing school—receive mentoring support, especially in the first critical weeks of school. Florida should consider expanding its program throughout the state.
Set more specific parameters.
To ensure that all teachers receive high-quality mentoring, the state 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, Florida 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.
Florida was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis.