Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
New York requires that all new teachers receive mentoring. The state mandates that all new teachers participate in a mentoring program for the first year of their employment. It is up to local district personnel to compile a list of eligible mentor candidates, based on criteria such as mastery of subject matter skills and interpersonal relationship qualities. The district superintendent then pairs the mentor to the new teacher. A decreased workload is required for both mentors and new teachers, and districts are eligible for funding to support release time. Mentors receive compensation.
Expand guidelines to include other key areas.
While still leaving districts flexibility, New York should articulate minimum guidelines for a high-quality induction experience. The state should require a timeline in which mentors are assigned to all new teachers, ideally soon after the commencing of teaching, to offer support during those first critical weeks of school. It should also mandate a method for performance evaluation.
New York noted that under its Race to the Top agenda, the state intends to release a Request for Proposal to distribute funds that will support approximately 2,000 new teachers for high-need schools and shortage of specialty areas (English language learners and students with disabilities). These early career educators will receive rigorous training, mentoring by trained teacher mentors, access to current research, peer support and targeted high-quality professional development to help create teacher leaders who will help new teachers achieve expertise in curriculum planning, assessment, and using data and reflection on practice to improve teaching and learning.