NTC Symposium Opens in San Jose

February 5, 2006
San Jose, California

The New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will host its Eighth National Symposium on Teacher Induction, entitled Blueprint for Success, February 5 – 7, 2006, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California.

This year’s program includes three themes central to induction: Quality Mentoring, Professional Identity and Leadership, and Equitable Learning and Social Justice, and integrates presentations on research, policy, practice, and technology.

The Symposium agenda includes distinguished keynote addresses by Margaret Wheatley, president emeritus of the Berkana Institute; Elliot Eisner, the Lee Jacks Professor of Education and Professor of Art at Stanford University; and Sharroky Hollie, Executive Director of the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching.

Participants can attend sessions by featured speakers Thomas Guskey, Karen M. Dyer, James A, Banks, Josefina Tinajero, and Ellen Moir, participate in Pre-Conference Workshops held on Sunday, and choose from sixty-eight concurrent sessions held on Monday and Tuesday.

NTC’s Symposium, initiated in 1999, is recognized as the premier national event on teacher induction. Attendance has grown since the initial event from 175 local attendees, to over 1000 educators representing 39 states and four countries. These outstanding and committed educators recognize the importance of supporting new teachers and enhancing their induction. The opportunities offered at the annual Symposium provide a forum for educational leaders and policy makers to come together to create a new vision for the teaching profession, and to consider how induction systems and mentoring practices can move schools and classroom practices towards equity and excellence.