Teacher Support And Guidance

Certificated Employees The Governing Board recognizes the link between teacher effectiveness and student learning and desires to provide structured, individualized support and guidance to teachers as necessary to enhance their performance and support teacher retention. The Superintendent or designee shall develop a program of intensive professional development and consultation to help interns and beginning teachers apply their academic preparation more effectively in the classroom and to assist other teachers who need additional development in subject matter knowledge, instructional methods, and/or classroom management. The Superintendent or designee shall coordinate individualized teacher support and guidance activities developed pursuant to this policy with other district staff development programs and staff evaluation processes. Teachers may volunteer to participate in a teacher support and guidance program or may be referred to such services based on their performance evaluation. Support providers shall be experienced certificated personnel who are knowledgeable about teacher development and needed competencies and have strong interpersonal and communication skills. Support may include, but is not limited to, classroom observations, regular meetings with the support provider, individualized plan for professional development, or coursework that takes into consideration the teacher's assignment and prior preparation and experience. The roles and responsibilities of support providers shall be clearly defined in writing and communicated to all participants. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure the timely assignment of qualified support providers to participating teachers and for reassignment as needed. They shall also ensure that each support provider receives appropriate training to serve in a support capacity and is provided adequate time and resources to assist other teachers. The district may provide a stipend to support providers in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement and district budget. The performance of a participating teacher shall be monitored by the support provider, Superintendent or designee, and/or a panel of teachers and administrators in order to determine whether the teacher has met program goals and to make recommendations for follow-up support or employment action, as appropriate. The Superintendent or designee shall evaluate the district's teacher support and guidance programs every two years and shall report to the Governing Board regarding program effectiveness in meeting district goals for teacher quality and retention. Evaluation reports may include, but are not limited to, data on program enrollment and completion, subsequent retention rates of participating teachers, and interviews or surveys of program participants. Beginning Teacher Induction Program The Superintendent or designee shall inform beginning teachers who possess a preliminary credential about induction programs or other options that are available to help them fulfill the requirements of the clear multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist credential pursuant to Education Code 44259. The district's beginning teacher induction program shall meet program standards adopted by the CTC and shall support beginning teachers in meeting the competencies described in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. The beginning teacher's knowledge and classroom practice shall be regularly assessed using multiple measures and the results shall be used to monitor and revise individual learning plans. The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a complete record of each participating teacher's progress toward completion of clear credential requirements. When the teacher has successfully completed the induction program, the Governing Board shall recommend to the CTC that they be awarded a clear teaching credential.