California

NTC Induction Policy Survey

Background
In 1988, California school districts were experiencing difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified teachers.  The California Department of Education and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing launched a four-year pilot program, the California New Teacher Project, to address these concerns and point the way for new policy directions in new teacher development. Programs were developed by school districts, consortia of school districts, and district partnerships with County Offices of Education and/or colleges and universities.  All such programs were required to include individualized mentoring support, curriculum and instruction workshops, and teacher self-assessment.

Several diverse models were chosen for funding, including the NTC’s Santa Cruz New Teacher Project (SCNTP) which centered around use of experienced teachers as mentors under a full release model with classroom observation, development of individual plan for improvement, advice on classroom management and curriculum planning, demonstration lessons, and training in collection and analysis of student achievement data.  Additional professional development was offered to address issues such as special education, and work with English language learners.

During the four year pilot program, 37 induction programs served more than 3,000 beginning teachers who were mentored by 2,200 experienced teachers in a cross section of urban, suburban, and rural school districts.  This project culminated in a 1992 Evaluation Study of the California New Teacher Project.  This study showed improvement in both teacher practice and retention. Participating teachers, as compared with other new teachers, employed more complex and challenging instructional activities. They were more successful in motivating students and setting high expectations for students from diverse backgrounds. They made greater use of state curriculum frameworks and district guidelines. The project also significantly reduced new teacher attrition rates, reducing overall rates by two thirds, and it was especially successful in supporting minority teachers.

The success of the California New Teacher Project led policy makers to enact Senate Bill 1422 in 1992, which provided for the gradual implementation of Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) programs throughout the state. The legislation also led to development of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) which were put into place in 1997. 

Current Status
California continues to be fortunate, in that there is an ongoing legislative mandate and funding for new teacher induction, and this does not appear to be in jeopardy. 

Like many other states, the majority of new teachers in California end up at high priority schools.  The Legislature is currently considering SB 1209 which has a number of components, including a $6000 stipend to entice veteran teachers to move to high priority schools where they can teach and serve as mentors for new teachers.  It also provides recruitment support, and seed money to pilot, with the agreement of the district and the local bargaining union, an alternative salary schedule which could be used to reward excellence in teaching.    

The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning publishes an analysis of California teaching entitled “The Status of the Teaching Profession 2005” http://www.cftl.org/publications_latest.php.