Teacher Induction and Mentoring

II. Induction and Mentoring Programs:

The Induction and Mentoring programs and supports must be offered District-wide, at the school level, and at the individual level.

• Level 1: District-Wide New Teacher Induction Program:
  The Office of Teaching and Learning must provide a minimum of 30 hours of district-wide professional learning opportunities for all pre-service teachers, first year teachers, and second year teachers.
  
  1. New Teacher Orientation: Before the start of each school year, CPS New Teacher Orientation professional learning must include:
     
     • Foundational Learning for all new teachers that focuses on the most relevant CPS initiatives including social and emotional learning, culturally responsive education, teacher evaluation and instructional frameworks, inclusive practices, English language programs introduction, and CPS systems.
     • Role-Specific professional learning for all new teachers that includes an overview of content-specific standards, instructional priorities, student achievement goals, and available resources.
     • Purposeful cross-district collaboration that focuses on teacher identity and implicit bias and connects new teachers with each other, teacher leaders, school networks, district representatives, community members, and students.
  2. New Teacher Year-Long Professional Learning and Mentoring: During each school year, ongoing foundational professional learning opportunities must be available for all CPS pre-service teachers, first year teachers, and second year teachers. This professional learning must include:
     
     • Professional learning opportunities available to all CPS pre-service teachers that includes a scope and sequence aligned to key components of CPS Induction to ensure CPS readiness for pre-service teachers. This professional learning must include CPS instructional practice frameworks, Equity framework, social and emotional learning, and hiring support.
     • Professional learning for all new teachers that includes a scope and sequence aligned to key components of CPS instructional practice frameworks, Equity framework, social and emotional learning, and the research-based phases of the first year.
     • Grade/content-specific professional learning options for new teachers to apply foundational learning within their specific grade and content teaching role.
     • Professional learning for all second year teachers that includes a scope and sequence aligned to key components of CPS instructional practice frameworks, equity framework, and social and emotional learning.
     • Purposeful cross-district collaboration that connects new teachers with each other, teacher leaders, school networks, district representatives, community members, and students.
     • Providing a grade/content alike mentor to any interested new-to-CPS mentor during their first year in CPS.
  3. New Teacher Communication: Consistent new teacher resources and communication must be available for all new teachers each summer and school year. New teacher-specific resources and communication must include:
     
     • Annually revised New Teacher Guidebook.
     • New Teacher-specific calendar of professional learning opportunities.
     • District-wide updates through monthly communications.
• Level 2: School-Based Induction Program:
  The Office of Teaching and Learning must provide professional learning opportunities, support, and resources for Principals or designees to build school-based Induction programs.
  
  1. Principal or Designee Professional Learning: Prior to the start of each school year, differentiated School-Based Induction professional learning opportunities must be available.
  2. School-Based Induction Standards: The Office of Teaching and Learning must provide principals or designees with current CPS Induction Standards.
  3. Coaching for School-Based Induction: The Office of Teaching and Learning can provide school level supports when:
     
     • The school satisfies criteria that are developed by the Office of Teaching and Learning and the Equity Office. The criteria should include targeting schools to ensure equity of resources such as additional supports to schools with high attrition, prioritized groups of teachers including those from the CPS Residency program, and alignment to school-level CIWP goals.
     • The school commits to collaboration with the Office of Teaching and Learning.
• Level 3: Individual New Teacher Support:
  The Office of Teaching and Learning must support schools in providing in-school mentoring opportunities for new teachers for their first two years in the district with a particular focus increasing the diversity of the mentorship program by increased recruitment in underserved school communities as defined by the Office of Equity.
  
  1. New Teacher Mentor Selection and Pairing: Principals or their designee must follow the CPS mentor selection requirements to select in-school mentors, pair them appropriately with new teachers, and set conditions for mentors to meet CPS mentor programming expectations.
  2. New Teacher Mentor Expectations: CPS expectations of in-school mentors funded by the district include that they engage in required professional learning, submit mentor planning documents, monitor progress of new teacher development, and support new teachers using the mentor requirements.
  3. New Teacher Mentor Professional Learning and Support: The Office of Teaching and Learning must provide mentor professional learning to school-based mentors.
     
     • Mentor professional learning must focus on current CPS mentor competencies, following cycles of support to ensure reflective practice of new teachers, the current CPS equity framework and culturally responsive education, and targeted support for mentor and new teachers’ needs.

III. Alignment to Local and State Induction and Mentoring Priorities and Standards:

The Office of Teaching and Learning must align all Induction and Mentoring activities with district and state priorities, policies, and standards.

• CPS Priorities Alignment: The Office of Teaching and Learning must align all Induction and Mentoring with the following:
  
  1. CPS Instructional Practice Frameworks: In all Induction and Mentoring activities, the district must use the most relevant CPS definition and guidance for effective teaching and learning.
  2. CPS Equity Framework: In all Induction and Mentoring activities, the district must use the most relevant CPS definition and guidance for educational equity.
  3. CPS Mission and Vision: In all Induction and Mentoring activities, the District must use the most relevant CPS mission, vision, and values.
• State Priorities Alignment: CPS must align all Induction and Mentoring around the most current Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Induction and Mentoring policies and standards.

IV. Cross-District and Community Engagement and Partnerships:

• Engagement: The Office of Teaching and Learning should strive to inform all necessary stakeholders of district Induction and Mentoring programming and opportunities to build awareness for new teacher hires, teacher leaders, school leaders, and network and district leaders.
• Partnerships: Any department internal to CPS or partner external to CPS who provides support to new teachers should:
  
  1. Share all new teacher support opportunities with the Office of Teaching and Learning so that it can be included in streamlined communication to new teachers.
  2. Build awareness and alignment across Induction programs that includes shared communication protocols, tracking systems, and progress monitoring systems.
  3. Align their programs and activities with CPS Induction and Mentoring and ISBE priorities in Section III above.

V. Continuous Improvement through Inclusive Partnerships:

The Office of Teaching and Learning must develop and implement a robust program evaluation and progress monitoring system in order to continually measure the Induction and Mentoring program’s impact and inform processes to continuously strengthen and evolve the District’s work. These processes must include inclusive partnerships as outlined in the CPS Equity Framework.

• Program Evaluation: The Office of Teaching and Learning must develop surveys and program evaluation activities to measure the overall impact on school induction conditions and structures, new teacher retention, instructional practice, and student achievement. Surveys and related activities must be distributed to all new teachers, teacher leaders, students, and Principals involved in one or more of the induction levels.
• Progress Monitoring System: The Office of Teaching and Learning must build a comprehensive progress monitoring system that continuously measures the impact of the Induction and Mentoring programming on new teacher retention, instructional practice, student achievement, and should continuously measure the impact of Induction and Mentoring programming on new teacher retention disaggregated by demographics, geographic distribution, and school characteristics stated in the CPS Equity Framework.
• Adjustments and Improvements to Induction and Mentoring: The Office of Teaching and Learning must use program evaluation and progress monitoring systems to annually set goals, identify improvements and adjustments to District’s multi-level Induction and Mentoring Programs.
  
  1. Induction and Mentoring Design Collaboration: CPS may include cross-district departments and CPS partners such as Educational Preparation Partners to design iterations of induction and mentoring activities.
  2. Implement resource allocation that aligns to the processes for Inclusive Partnerships outlined in the CPS Equity Framework.

VI. Guidelines and Standards:

The Office of Teaching and Learning is authorized to issue guidelines and standards for the effective implementation of this Policy. At a minimum the Office of Teaching and Learning must issue the following standards:

• CPS Induction Standards: The Office of Teaching and Learning must issue standards for new teacher induction consistent with Section III above.
• CPS Mentor Selection Standards: The Office of Teaching and Learning must issue standards for mentor selection consistent with Section III above.

VII. Board Monitoring and Reporting:

The CEO or designee will provide to the Board an annual report that outlines the improvements and adjustments made in new teacher induction and mentoring programming identified to target disparities in teacher retention data by race, gender, other demographic subgroups, and distribution in the District.