"It appears that the most important difference between the most and the least effective classrooms is the teacher, but the most important variable appears to be what they do, rather than what they know."
Dylan Wiliam Ahead of the Curve, 2009
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In 2005, CSTP launched an initiative called the New Teacher Alliance to further the work of new teacher support in Washington state. The work, funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focuses on helping new teachers learn to be effective quickly and remain teaching in Washington public schools.
The New Teacher Alliance is a three-year grant that provides assistance to the districts as they use the Effective Support for New Teachers in Washington State to improve the help they provide to their new teachers.
It takes a whole school and district to assist a new teacher. Here's what the New Teacher Alliance has learned with regard to helping a new teacher and the significance of administrators' roles in their support. In collaboration with the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Teacher Assistance Program, CSTP provides Induction Think Tanks for districts and an annual symposium to support the growing network of Washington educators who assist new teachers.
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Cle Elum – Roslyn School District
Mary M. Knight School District
Cle Elum – Roslyn School District
www.cleelum.wednet.edu
Number of schools – 4
Number of students – 935
Percentage of students in poverty – 30%
Percentage students of color – 9.5%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 1.5%
Teachers – 60
New Teachers -2
Teacher Experience – 13 years
Cle Elum-Roslyn School District has one high school, one middle school and one elementary school. It is located in the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range in Washington State; the Cle Elum Roslyn School District provides quality educational opportunities for the communities of Cle Elum, South Cle Elum, Roslyn and Ronald.
For Cle Elum-Roslyn, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is somewhat different from that of the state. They have proportionately fewer mid-experience range teachers that are retained and higher levels of teachers in their last few years that are retained.
Model for New Teacher Support
Cle Elum-Roslyn provides a two-day orientation that includes a Treasure Hunt to local businesses where they receive gifts. Mentors meet monthly with their new teachers as a group to discuss topics centered around the book Why Didn't I Learn this in College with paid time to meet individually to follow up on the group meeting. All mentees have a mentor in their building. In partnership with a college Cle Elum-Roslyn teachers can receive their Pro Cert program on site.
Highline Public Schools
www.hsd401.org
Number of schools - 36
Number of students – 17,666
Percentage of students in poverty – 59%
Percentage students of color – 60%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 19%
Teachers – 1,148
New Teachers 2008-09 – 74
Teacher Experience – 9.9 years
Highline Public Schools serve five communities in Northwest Washington; Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Des Moines, and White Center. The enrollment is approximately 18,000 students taught by over 900 classroom teachers. Thirty five percent are novices (4 years or less of experience). There are two comprehensive (traditional) high schools (each with small learning communities for 9th and 10th graders); eight small high schools; a regional skills center; and Aviation High School, a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) school. There are four middle schools (grades 7-8) and 18 elementary schools, which include full- and half-day kindergarten. Students represent 87 nationalities and speak 79 languages. The largest ethnic group represented is white (35.2%) followed by Hispanic (27%) and Asian or Pacific Islander (21.2%), a shift from years past with notable growth in the Hispanic population. 18.8% of students are enrolled in English Language Learner classrooms, in sheltered classrooms, or monitored in mainstream classes, and over 50% come from homes in which a language other than English is spoken. Nearly 59% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Student mobility is high; although about 85% stay all year, with the remaining seats turning over frequently.
The Highline School District’s Peer Mentor Program provides trained mentors to serve the districts’ beginning teachers. The program began in the summer of 1999 after several years of planning by a committee comprised of district and association representatives. The goal of the Peer Mentor Program is to support beginning teachers in ways that accelerate their learning and their students’ learning. Mentors strive to provide encouragement, resources, learning-focused conversations, and training that build on teachers’ prior knowledge and skills. Highline currently has 3.0 full release mentor positions with an average mentor/mentee caseload of 1:28.
For Highline, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is similar to the state, but reveals lower retention rates across all experience levels. However, it has increased slightly for novice and mid-range experience teachers.
Model for New Teacher Support
A four-day orientation welcomes new teachers to Highline, planned by the Teacher Advancement Team, which coordinates support for new teachers across the administrative, instructional and HR departments. Full-time mentors support new teachers during their first year. Third year teachers join a district-based Pro Cert program. New teachers, mentors and principals all have induction handbooks that assure all stakeholders have equal access to important information. Teachers interested in hosting student teachers learn about teaching standards and mentoring strategies in a special course offered in partnership with a local university.
Mary M. Knight School District
www.mary.waschoolwebpages.com
Number of schools - 2
Number of students - 194
Percentage of students in poverty – 51%
Percentage students of color – 12.92%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 0
Teachers – 16
New Teachers 2005-06 – 1
Teacher Experience – 16.2 years
Mary M. Knight School District, is located in Matlock, Mason County. The district was established in 1924. It has one secondary school and one elementary school and serves 194 students. Mary M. Knight School District believes that communication between parents, teachers, students and the administration is critical to maximize student success. Our area has high poverty and people seem to live in Matlock to escape the big city or towns. Many teachers live out of district because of limited housing, We must sell our district to new teachers with attractions like small class size, opportunities to be creative in the classroom, and one-to-one student involvement.
For Mary M. Knight, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is similar to the state with the exception of novice teachers. Mary M. Knight has a smaller percentage of teachers with less than 5 years experience, but mobility is still most pronounced for those in their novice years.
Model of New Teacher Support
Mary M. Knight welcomes their new teachers with a one-day orientation that covers electronic grading programs, district culture and new teacher concerns. They also receive an extensive new teacher handbook. All mentors received training from the OSPI Mentor Academy and have created a Professional Learning Community for the first and second year teachers and their mentors. While the mentors are also full-time classroom teachers, they provide support to their new teachers when needed and through their monthly just-in-time meetings.
Raymond School District
www.raymond.k12.wa.us
Number of schools - 2
Number of students - 564
Percentage of students in poverty – 52%
Percentage students of color – 33.51%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 11.58%
Teachers – 46
New Teachers 2005-06 – N/A
Teacher Experience – 17.2 years
The town of Raymond is situated on the beautiful Willapa River, approximately 1.25 hours south and west of Olympia, WA. The area is renowned for its beauty and serenity.
The Raymond School District consists of approximately 600 students, grades P-12. There are two schools: Raymond Elementary (P-6) and Raymond Junior/Senior High (7-12). Additional schools are the Willapa Harbor Alternative High School and a parent/school partnership called HomeLink.
For Raymond, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is similar to the state, but reveals higher percentages of retention in the middle range of experience and lower retention for those with the least and most experience.
Model of New Teacher Support
Raymond hosts a three day orientation for new teachers, organized by the district office and school-based mentors, which introduces new teachers to Total Quality Learning, a district initiative. Daily support comes from school-based mentors who are full-time classroom teachers paid a stipend for mentoring. New teachers meet monthly for professional development led by the Superintendent and are provided a New Teacher handbook full of useful resources.
Rochester School District
www.rochester.wednet.edu
Number of schools - 6
Number of students – 2241
Percentage of students in poverty – 45%
Percentage students of color – 20%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 5%
Teachers – 143.3 FTE
New Teachers 2008-09 – 7 new to the profession & 11 new to the district
Teacher Experience – 14.5 years
Rochester School District is located in Thurston County, approximately 20 miles south of Olympia. The district takes great pride in developing educational programs that prepare students for a successful adult life. As a result of this pride and commitment, each member of Rochester's educational family sets high self-performance expectations. When the occasion necessitates, the district searches for committed, quality professionals to add to its staff. Their mission is to provide a quality education that will empower our individual students to become caring, competent, responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process.
For Rochester, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is similar to the state, but reveals considerably higher retention rates across all experience levels. However, it is important to note that with the exception of the most experienced teachers, teacher retention has declined across all experience levels, most dramatically for novice teachers.
Model for New Teacher Support
School-based mentors lead the two-day orientation and twice-monthly professional development for new teachers. New teachers have a third day of orientation available with their mentor to work in their classroom. Mentors are trained at OSPI Mentor Academy and then meet quarterly with district leaders to sharpen their skills and deepen their leadership capacity. Professional development for new teachers is focused on making them competent and connected to their students, colleagues and community.
Rochester School District is committed to the education of the community's youth. They have an enrollment of approximately 2241 students in six schools: 1 primary school (grades K-2), 1 elementary school (grades 2-5), 1 middle school (grades 6-8), 2 comprehensive high schools (grades 9-12) and 1 alternative high school.
Spokane Public Schools
www.spokaneschools.org
Number of schools – 63
Number of students – 29,670
Percentage of students in poverty – 48%
Percentage students of color – 22.00 %
Percentage students who are English Learners – 3.43%
Teachers – 2048
New Teachers 2008-09 – 63
Teacher Experience – 13.3 years
Spokane is the largest urban school district in eastern Washington, with 6 high schools, 6 middle schools and 34 elementary schools. The school district is the largest employer in the city. Spokane hires more than 100 new teachers each year. The district and the education association began a joint effort three years ago called Careers in Teaching (CiT) in order to better support teachers at the beginning of their career. Spokane presently has eight full-time release mentors, although requests for services far outweigh their capacity.
For Spokane, the profile of the teacher workforce is similar to that of the state but reveals much higher retention rates across nearly all experience levels.
Model for New Teacher Support
A two-day orientation welcomes new teachers to Spokane with one day spent learning district priorities and the second day at their building with their principal. A third day of specified orientation occurs in the winter. Full-time mentors work closely with instructional coaches to support new teachers during their first year. Second year teachers keep their mentor for an additional year of support. A series of district-developed video teaching modules on classroom management serve as the basis for first-year professional development and ongoing conversation between mentor and new teacher. Other classroom-embedded professional development includes a focus on data collection, lesson planning and differentiation.
Toppenish School District
www.toppenish.wednet.edu
Number of schools - 8
Number of students – 3,399
Percentage of students in poverty – 95.3%
Percentage students of color – 94.47%
Percentage students who are English Learners – 59%
Teachers – 204
New Teachers 2005-06 – 11
New Teachers 2008-09 - 16
Teacher Experience – 10.7 years
Toppenish School District is located in the Upper Yakima Valley. The district consists of one comprehensive high school, one alternative high school /middle school, one middle school, four elementary schools, and one preschool. One of the elementary schools offers dual language, where students are taught in English and Spanish. The schools are the focal point in the community. Their mission is to identify student learning abilities and nurture their academic growth. Teachers are expected to have a passion for teaching and learning. Curriculum, programs and instructional strategies are based on best practices according to research. The district has joined the Washington Digital Learning Commons to provide high school students with a wider variety of courses and access to college level classes. Toppenish is making large scale improvement in teaching and learning.
For Toppenish, the profile of the teacher workforce by experience is similar to the state, but reveals lower retention rates for those with less than 15 years of experience. Teacher retention has increased slightly for novice teachers and those with the most experience.
Model for New Teacher Support
A five-day orientation greets new teachers to the Toppenish Way. They go on a wagon ride to view the city's murals and community as well as receive district curriculum training, classroom management strategies, and time in their classrooms. Mentors are curriculum coaches in their buildings who had additional training at the OSPI Mentor Academy. Mentees have two hours of paid time per month plus forty-five minutes of Professional Learning Community time at least three times a week. The district coordinates a Pro Cert program on site with a local college.
ESD 105
www.esd105.wednet.edu
Educational Service District, 105 located in South Central Washington, serves 58,000 students in four counties and supports 25 public school districts and 23 state approved private and tribal schools. The ESD works to:
ESD 113
www.esd113.k12.wa.us
Educational Service District 113 is one of nine regional Educational Service Districts in the state of Washington. Educational Service District 113 serves forty-five predominately rural, remote school districts in Southwest Washington State. Forty-one of the districts enroll fewer than 2,000 students and thirty-two fewer than 1,000. The geographical service region encompasses five counties as far southeast from Olympia (the state capital) to White Pass in the Cascade Mountains and as far northwest as the coastal community of Taholah on the Quinault Reservation. The primary function of ESD 113 is to support agencies and deliver educational services that can be more efficiently or economically preformed regionally. ESD's legislated responsibilities are to:
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