New Teacher Induction Program

Kristin DeLuca & Shannon Hathcock

Author Note

Shannon F. Hathcock, Department of Organizational Leadership, Oakland University. Correspondence

concerning this article should be addressed to Shannon Hathcock, Department of Organizational
Leadership, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309

Contact: Shannonhathcock@oakland.edu
Part 1:

August:

Topic: Using District Technology and Programs

Rationale:

It is important for new teachers to be familiar with and trained on the tools and resources that

are available to them including but not limited to PowerSchool, Schoology, Unified Classroom,

Meal Magic, and Microsoft Teams. The first year as a teacher can be daunting and we want our

teachers to be familiar with accessing and utilizing district programs. During this presentation,

we would also introduce our platforms for reporting an absence and tracking professional

development.

Who will present: District Technology Coach

What are the goals for this program?

• How to use PowerSchool to take attendance.

• How to use Unified Classroom/PowerSchool for grading.

• How to use Schoology to access district professional development.

• How to use Schoology as a resource for classroom courses.

• How to place meal orders for students using Meal Magic.

• How to participate in meetings through Microsoft Teams.

• How to access curriculum pacing guides and resources.

 • How to use AESOP to report an absence.

• How to track DPPD and additional 90 hours in MyLearningPlan.

Description:

The district technology coach would advise all teachers to bring their district technology to the

meeting. During the meeting, teachers would follow along with the technology coach while

he/she walked them through the programs on the SmartBoard.

September: Utilizing an IEP/504 and Progress Monitoring

Rationale:

During the month of September, a lot of information is communicated to teachers including

IEPs and 504s. We want to provide teachers with suggestions for grouping and providing

supports and accommodations for students with IEPs and 504s. This information is also

important for district and state assessments, which begin in the month of September.

Who will present: Building Administrator/Special Education Team/Ancillary

What are the goals for this program:

• Help teachers understand IEPs and 504s and accommodation requirements.

• Best practices for classroom management for students with disabilities.

• Different strategies for modifying work and assessments for students with an IEP/504.

• Grading procedures for students with an IEP/504.

• Who to contact with student concerns.

 • Resources available to students with an IEP/504 including small group instruction, assist

classes, paras, etc.

• District and state assessment accommodations for students with an IEP/504.

Description:

The ancillary/special education department and administration would talk to new teachers

about how IEPs/504s are communicated and provide them with strategies for keeping track of

students with their accommodations and providing modifications to their lessons and

assessments.

October: Benefits and Payroll

Rationale:

Open enrollment runs through the month of October; therefore, we want our new teachers to

be aware of the benefits available to them, how to choose their benefits and access online pay

stubs.

Who Will Present: HR representative and/or representative from Benefits and Payroll

Department

What are the goals for this program?

• Inform new teachers the benefits available to them.

• Help teachers choose a healthcare package that best fit their needs and their family’s

needs.

• Explain short-term disability.

 • Show teachers how to access the ORS website and elect their pension plan.

• Explain life insurance options.

• Show teachers how to login and access online paystubs.

Description:

A representative from the HR or benefits and payroll department would present the benefit

packages available to teachers and show them how to make their elections during the open

enrollment period. They would also explain short-term disability, life insurance options and

show them how to access their online paystubs. Lastly, new teachers would learn about the

ORS website and elect a pension plan.

Part II: Next 3 Years

Topic 1: The Evaluation Process

• Dig Deeper into each domain of the evaluation tool used.

• Provide teachers with resources to help them increase effectiveness in different

domains.

Topic 2: The Used of Data for Progress Monitoring

• We will remind teachers how to access NWEA/MSTEP data for their students.

• We will review various reports and how they can be used to differentiate instruction to

meet the needs of the students.

Topic 3: School Improvement Process

• We will take the time to review our school’s and district’s improvement goals.
 • We will share with teachers how to plan, implement, and monitor all school

improvement strategies in their classroom and across the curriculum.

Part 3: Evaluation of Program by Learning Forward Standards

Learning Communities: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results

for all students occurs within learning communities committed to continuous improvement,

collective responsibility, and goal alignment.

We have achieved the goals specified in the Learning Communities by providing teachers with

support on the use of district technology and programming which will allow them to better

services the different student needs in their classroom and help them to access the professional

development available to them. Our induction plan also meets this goal by exposing our new

teachers to their diverse colleagues from various departments so that they recognize the

collective responsibility they share in the educational process.

Leadership: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all

students requires skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems

for professional learning.

We have achieved the goals specified in the Leadership domain of the Learning Forward

standards by providing our new teacher with the induction program, a mentor, and exposure to

colleagues from various departments.

Resources: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all

students requires prioritizing, monitoring, and coordinating resources for educator learning.
We have achieved the goals specified in the resources domain by providing helping teachers to

understand the school improvement process which analyzes resources used within all areas of

curriculum within the school. The induction plan also met this goal by helping teachers to

access district mandated curriculum and helped them to locate tools to teach the common

curriculum.

Data: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students

uses a variety of sources and types of student, educator, and system data to plan, assess, and

evaluate professional learning.

We have achieved the goals specified in the data domain by providing teachers with best

practices for working with students with IEPs and 504s. Our plan also includes data

disaggregation and how it can be used to differentiate instruction for all learners.

Learning Designs: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all

students integrates theories, research, and models of human learning to achieve its intended

outcomes.

We have achieved the goals specified in the learning designs domain by digging deeper into the

evaluation process and providing teachers with strategies to increase their effectiveness. The

school improvement plan also provides research-based strategies and resources that all

teachers and students will benefit from.

Implementation: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all

students applies research on change and sustains support for implementation of professional

learning for long term change.

We have achieved the goal specified in implementation by requiring attendance at the

induction meetings. This goal was also achieved by showing teachers the online platform for

continuing individualized professional development available to them.

Outcomes: Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all

students aligns its outcomes with educator performance and student curriculum standards.

We have achieved the goal specified in the outcome domain by providing teachers with

professional development on best practices for all students including special education

students and by providing teachers with the tools necessary to review progress monitoring data

to assess their effectiveness.