Year One

Year One of the Comprehensive Induction Program focuses on classroom environment, lesson preparation and planning, and instruction. During Year One, the Mentor should support the educator as they establish an environment in which learning takes place, strengthen their ability to select and organize lesson content and student skills to be taught, and deliver content, that engages students in the process of learning and involves them in decisions when possible.

Year One - Minimum Requirements

• Weekly Face-to-Face (virtual or in person) conversations with a Mentor (to provide real-time or near real-time support)
• Four (4) observations/feedback cycles conducted by the Mentor
• Observe skilled educators in practice four times (via videos, virtually or in-person)
• Participate in two (2) professional learning workshops ( final approval is at the LEA’s discretion)
• Complete on-line ethics course (approved by DOE)

Procedures/Forms

1. Weekly Face-to-Face Meetings (virtual or in person)

   Mentor and Mentee should meet at least one time per week. These meetings should be tracked using the Mentor Log. Both Mentor and Mentee should keep a copy of the log to ensure accurate record keeping.

2. Ethics Course

   Your Site Coordinator will provide information to access ETS's ProEthica online ethics course. You will be required to complete the course during your first year. Please keep a copy of the Certificate of Completion. Please note, there is no cost for you to complete this course.

3. Observation #1

   Your Mentor will observe 30 minutes of your instruction. Discuss with your Mentor how/when you will be observed. It is encouraged that your performance is recorded so that it can be reviewed alone and together. If a recording is not possible, the Mentor shall observe in person or virtually and record notes of what they see and hear during your instruction on the Observation Form.

4. Preparation for Post-Observation Meeting

   Your Mentor will schedule a meeting with you soon after your observation. Prior to this meeting, you should review the Guiding Questions for Classroom Environment. This document provides potential questions that may be asked of you by your Mentor or an administrator. You are not required to answer the questions in written form; however, you should think about how you would respond if the questions were to be asked of you and discuss any clarifications that you may need with your Mentor.

5. Post-Observation #1 Meeting

   During the meeting, your Mentor will review your current practice with you and, together, you will complete the Discussion Log One. The purpose of the Discussion Log is to celebrate your successes, identify your areas for growth, and determine what support and resources you may need to become more effective in this component. You will be given a copy of your Discussion Log. After identifying the evidence of your practice in Component Two (Classroom Environment), you will select one criterion as your area of focus. (Choose any criterion from Component Two of "A Framework for Teacher's Components" Chart) At the conclusion of this meeting, you and your Mentor should determine any needs and/or resources you may want related to this criterion and agree as to how/when they will be provided.

6. Observing a Skilled Teacher

   You should plan to focus on refining your skills in the selected criterion for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. During that time, you will observe a skilled teacher a minimum of two (2) times in practice. This can be done in person or virtually, observing a skilled teacher in practice, or it may be done by reviewing credible online or recorded video that will provide you with examples of best practice from which you may seek strategies or clarifications related to your area of focus.. After observing a skilled teacher in practice, use the Skilled Teacher Observation Form to guide a discussion between you and your mentor.

7. Observation #2

   Your Mentor will schedule to observe you for a second time, 30 minutes of your instruction. It is encouraged that your performance is recorded so that it can be reviewed alone and together. If a recording is not possible, the Mentor shall observe in person or virtually and record notes of what they see and hear during your instruction on the Observation Form, focusing only on the criterion that you chose to work on.

8. Post-Observation #2 Meeting

   During this meeting, you and your Mentor will review your practice, discuss any questions you may have and, together, you will complete the Discussion Log. You and your Mentor will also review the "Component Rubrics for Teachers" and highlight your current level of performance on each of the criteria for Component 2 (Classroom Environment) which will determine your next steps in the mentoring process. If it is determined that your current level of performance is in the "Effective" range, you should move on to the next area of focus. If you still identify as "Needs Improvement" you may want to refine your practice in this area while working with your Mentor.

9. Preparation for Pre-Observation Meeting for Observation #3

   Schedule a meeting with your Mentor to review lesson plans. Prior to this meeting you should review the Guiding Questions for Planning and Preparation. This document provides potential questions that may be asked of you by your Mentor or an administrator. You are not required to answer the questions in written form; however, you should think about how you would respond if the question were to be asked of you. Choose a lesson plan that you will be implementing to bring to the meeting. You do not need to create a new lesson plan specifically for this meeting as it is assumed that you plan in enough detail that someone can read any of your lesson plans and understand your goals, objectives, activities, and assessments for that particular lesson.

10. Pre-observation Meeting for Observation #3

    During this meeting, you will review your chosen lesson plan with your Mentor and he/she will complete the Discussion Log. After your discussion, you should highlight your current level of performance on each of the criteria of Component One: Planning and Preparation.

    The lesson observed in this observation may or may not be the lesson that you use to complete the instructional observation part of this cycle. That will be determined by you and your Mentor. Identify a date on which you will be observed for instruction of this lesson or one in the future.

11. Observation #3

    Your Mentor will observe 30 minutes of your instruction. He/She will either video or create a written record of the lesson that you have elected to use for instruction. Your Mentor will record what he/she sees and hears during this observation on the Observation Form. If you are not using the lesson plan that you previously reviewed together, give a copy of your current lesson plan to your Mentor before he/she comes in to observe.

12. Preparation for Post-Observation Meeting for Observation #3

    Your Mentor will schedule a meeting soon after the observation to review your performance and evidence of practice in instruction. Prior to this meeting you should review the Guiding Questions for Instruction.

13. Post-Observation Meeting for Observation #3

    During the meeting, your Mentor will discuss your performance in instruction with you. After considering the criteria of Component Three (Instruction), select one criterion in which you would like to refine your practice. An example may be that I see that you do not wait very long when asking questions. Thus, you may select 3d (Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques) as your criterion of focus. Before closing your meeting, decide what you may need from your Mentor and try to select a date for your next observation to occur approximately three to four weeks after this conference.

14. Observing Skilled Teacher

    You should plan to focus on refining your skills in the selected criterion for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. During that time, you will observe a veteran teacher a minimum of two (2) times in practice. This can be done in person or virtually, observing a skilled teacher in practice, or it may be done by reviewing credible online or recorded video that will provide you with examples of best practice from which you may seek strategies or clarifications related to your area of focus.. After observing a skilled teacher in practice, use the Skilled Teacher Observation Form and share and discuss your responses with your Mentor.

15. Observation #4

    Your Mentor will schedule a time to observe you during instruction for the final time. Your Mentor will record what he/she sees or hears during this observation on the Observation Form focusing only on the criterion from Component Three that you chose to work on.

16. Post-Observation Meeting for Observation #4

    Meet with your Mentor to discuss the last observation, review his/her notes regarding your practice on the Discussion Log, and any questions that you wish to share. Together, you will review the "Component Rubrics for Teachers"  and highlight your current level of performance on each of the criteria for Component One (Planning and Preparation) and Component Three (Instruction) which will determine your next steps in the mentoring process.

17. Workshop Requirement

    At some point during Year One, you will be attending a minimum of two (2) professional learning workshops. Districts/charter schools have flexibility in how they address this requirement. At some sites, a decision may be made to ensure all novice educators participate in the same workshops, while at other sites, a decision may be made to allow greater flexibility. The final determination is at the discretion of the district/charter school. Documentation of having participated in these workshops should be kept by the novice educator and presented to the Lead Mentor and/or Site Coordinator at the end of the year as evidence of having met this requirement.

18. Verification/Year One Sign-Out

    At the end of Year One, you are to complete a Verification of Services Form for Educators. This is a personal statement and should not be completed while you are meeting with your Mentor . You only need to check off the statements and sign the form. If you feel that you need to be matched with a different Mentor, please contact your Site Coordinator directly. Send the completed Verification of Services form to your Lead Mentor/Site Coordinator as indicated by your school/district. Your Mentor will also complete a Verification of Services Form for Mentors.

Documentation of Year One Completion

You will be issued a Certificate of Completion for Year One which must be kept for a period of three years.

Please keep copies of the following as documentation for Year One:

• Certificate of Completion for Year One
• Verification of Services for Educators
• Certificate of Completion for the ethics course