Developing a Teacher Induction Plan

Help teachers move past the grind of daily survival to the fulfillment of career-long professional development!
 
Imagine someone telling you that, within three years, your new teachers would leave the profession for which they trained so hard. That′s what is happening to 30% of today′s promising new teachers who are not given the mentoring, direction, and professional development that is so desperately needed to keep them focused and enthusiastic. To handle this growing challenge of teacher attrition, teacher induction experts Barbara L. Brock and Marilyn L. Grady offer a comprehensive program-crafted with school leaders and staff developers in mind-which provides strategies both for supporting beginning teachers, and for retaining and developing these promising, highly qualified teachers.

Written in an accessible workbook style format, this guide covers:

• Designing a multiyear developmental program including the orientation process, mentoring, directed activities, seminars, and workshops
• The responsibilities of the induction team
• Assessment of current issues, including attrition and past retention efforts
• Program evaluation from initial assessment to the sharing of results

When beginning teachers receive the support they need, not only do they truly contribute to their schools, but they also set out to do what they chose to do-prepare today′s students for tomorrow′s world.

Barbara L. Brock is a professor of education at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She has held a variety of positions in education, including education department chair, director of school administration, elementary principal, and K-12 teacher. She presents nationally and internationally on topics of beginning teacher induction, leadership succession, teacher and principal burnout, and educators with disabilities. She is coauthor with Marilyn Grady of Principals in Transition: Tips for Surviving Succession, From First-Year to First-Rate: Principals Guiding New Teachers, Rekindling the Flame: Principals Combating Teacher Burnout, Avoiding Burnout: A Principal’s Guide to Keeping the Fire Alive, and Launching Your First Principalship. She has published in a number of journals, including The Journal of the Mid-Western Research Association, Educational Considerations, Connections, Clearinghouse, and Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice. She received her bachelor of arts degree in art education from Briar Cliff University, a master of arts with a specialty in school administration from Creighton University, and a doctorate in administration, curriculum, and instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Marilyn L. Grady, is professor of educational administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She is the author or coauthor of 23 books, including From Difficult Teachers to Dynamic Teamwork (2009) with Brock, Getting it Right from the Start (2009) with Kostelnik From First Year to First Rate (2007) with Brock, 194 High-Impact Letters for Busy Principals (2006), 20 Biggest Mistakes Principals Make and How to Avoid Them (2004) and Launching Your First Principalship (2004) with Brock. Her research areas include leadership, the principalship, and superintendent-board relations. She has more than 175 publications to her credit. She is the editor of the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership. Her editorial board service has included Educational Administration Quarterly, International Studies in Educational Administration, International Journal of Learning, Rural Educator, Journal of At-Risk Issues, Journal of School Leadership, Advancing Women in Leadership On-Line Journal, Journal for Rural School and Community Renewal, International Journal of Learning, and Journal for a Just and Caring Education. She is the recipient of the Stanley Brzezinski Research Award, NCPEA’s Living Legend Award, the Donald R. and Mary Lee Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence, UNL’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and UNL’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Status of Women. Grady coordinates an annual conference on women in educational leadership that attracts national attendance and is in its 24th year. She has been an administrator in K-12 schools as well as at the college and university levels. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and her doctorate in educational administration with a specialty in leadership from The Ohio State University.