Mentoring and Induction

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Strengthen Mentoring & Induction

Drive instructional transformation by strengthening supports for beginning teachers, especially high-need schools

Mentoring and Induction

Mentoring and Induction is All About Instructional Support

At the heart of our work is a core focus on instructional transformation: Mentoring and induction programs are only as effective as the instructional supports that they offer to beginning teachers. Building strong, evidence-based mentoring and induction programs that are customized and tailored to local contexts, especially for high-need schools, helps states and districts

  • address high rates of beginning teacher attrition and capitalize on their best assets—experienced teachers with extensive insights to share as mentors;
  • improve the quality of classroom instruction; and
  • narrow gaps in equitable access to effective educators for students of color, students with disabilities, and students from low-income backgrounds.

Explore our free toolkits and briefs below, as well as the supporting services we offer to help states and districts build or strengthen mentoring and induction programs for high-need schools.

Top Resources

Mentoring and Induction Toolkit 2.0: Supporting Teachers in High-Need Contexts

Use the eight modules in our Mentoring and Induction Toolkit 2.0 to

  • facilitate meaningful conversations with districts about design, implementation, and continuous improvement.
  • review summaries of research, mentor practice standards, induction program standards, best practices, and relevant examples, and
  • create a streamlined process for data-driven decision making and action planning that leads to targeted improvements for new teachers working in high-need schools. 

Access the Toolkit

Evidence-Based Practices to Support Equity: A Snapshot on Mentoring and Induction

To make informed policy decisions, use this snapshot to understand the basics of mentoring and induction strategies, including how states and districts have implemented these strategies and the empirical studies and evidence that demonstrate the effect of the strategies on educator and student outcomes.

 

 

 

 

Read the Snapshot

Flipping the Readiness Paradigm: Tailoring Programs to Address the Achievement Gap and Teacher Shortages in High-Need Schools

Too often, mentoring and induction programs are not designed to be successful in the highest need schools and districts. In schools that have fewer resources to tackle greater challenges, typical best practice strategies may fail if we ignore how a high-need context shapes school readiness in program design and implementation. We offer a framework to help clients design strategies that are context specific―selected and customized to meet a school where it is, not the other way around.

 

Read the Brief

Featured Project

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Indiana Department of Education

Mentoring and Induction in High-Need Schools

Mentoring and Induction in High-Need Schools: Kokomo, Indiana

When Kokomo School Corporation and the Indiana Department of Education developed and piloted a new mentoring and induction program in four schools as part of the Talent for Turnaround Leadership Academy, pilot schools saw teacher retention jump from 50% to 100% by the end of the first pilot year.

Using the GTL Center’s Mentoring and Induction Toolkit 2.0, the team facilitated a data dive, root cause analysis, induction program inventory, and action planning. With support from Indiana Department of Education, the program and resources have been scaled up to more schools in the district and to new districts.

Learn About the Project

GTL Center Mentoring and Induction Services

If your state or district is using mentoring and induction as an integrated talent management strategy for improving equitable access to excellent educators, our tools and services were designed with you in mind. We can assist with consultations, modification, and customization of GTL Center tools to meet your unique context, and we can provide more in-depth, sustained supports based on need. We offer three service levels—exploring, investing, and all-in—that can be customized and tailored to your unique needs and starting point.

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EXPLORING

Interested in better understanding mentoring and induction programs? We offer short-term engagements to build your knowledge and expertise, including:

  • Expert consultation or subject matter experts to support knowledge building
  • Presentations or keynote speakers to provide the latest research and examples
  • Single-day workshops to explore critical features of a comprehensive mentoring and induction program and help teams map out a process for designing a system that will meet their state or district’s needs (For a preview, explore Module 1 in our Toolkit.) 

INVESTING

Ready to invest in mentoring and induction in your state? We offer packages for 3+ day, on-site workshops rooted in our Mentoring and Induction Toolkit to support your team in:

  • Analyzing data and engaging stakeholders to target specific improvement strategies within mentoring and induction
  • Designing specific program elements, such as mentor selection and development processes
  • Action planning to guide implementation of the mentoring and induction plan, including data collection and monitoring
  • Reflecting on data to sustainably adjust implementation and scale-up 

ALL IN

Looking for a partner to guide you step-by-step, over the long haul? We offer long-term, on-the-ground supports for program planning, piloting, continuous improvement, and program evaluation:  

  • Side-by-side planning and program design through a process centered on equity, implementation science, research, and best practice
  • Train-the-trainer sessions to build capacity and support sustainability and scale-up
  • Data collection, instrument design, administration, and reporting to support program evaluation