Teacher Retention part of the Education Reform Network

Developing a Career Continuum

• Creating a Teacher Mentoring Program
  Proceedings from the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education's Teacher Mentoring Symposium. The paper outlines the issues and questions associated with developing or improving teacher mentoring programs.
• Definition of Mentoring
  The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has a series of education topics, including one on mentoring. It begins with a definition of the topic, and continues with a further exploration and additional suggested resources.
• Keeping Good Teachers
  Veteran teachers share their ideas on the induction of new teachers, keeping, valuing, and supporting good teachers, and reflecting on just what it is that makes good teachers. Be sure to click on the "Table of Contents" icon to view all of the contributions.
• Keeping Good Teachers--Study Guide
  A study guide designed to be used in conjunction with the "Keeping Good Teachers" topical issue of Educational Leadership (May 2003).
• Learning Along the Way
  This book by Diane Sweeney details how an inner-city school in Denver used a learner-centered professional development approach focused on the needs of individual teachers to produce gains in teacher knowledge and effectiveness.
• Mentoring Beginning Teachers
  The authors of this book provide practical strategies for K-12 teachers working with mentors and beginning teachers in their school districts. Joint assessment and reflective thinking are seem as tools to enhance the mentoring experience for both the mentor and the beginning teacher.
• Mentoring Beginning Teachers: Lessons from the Experience in Texas
  Policy research report on the mentoring of beginning teachers from the Southwest Education and Development Laboratory.
• Mentoring Matters: A Practical Guide to Learning-Focused Relationships
  Using strategies anchored in research, the authors of this book provide ideas and guidance to assist the mentor in speeding the transition of the novice teacher into an expert teacher.
• New Teacher Center
  The New Teacher Center is a national resource dedicated to teacher development, new teacher training, and programs and practices that promote diversity and excellence in the teaching force.
• Professional Career Continuum
  An overview of the twenty-category Professional Career Continuum from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, Public Schools.
• Some Teacher Mentoring Resources
  A collection of links on teacher mentoring and new teacher induction programs and policies compiled by MiddleWeb.
• Supporting Beginning Teachers: How Administrators, Teachers and Policymakers Can Help New Teachers Succeed
  This booklet from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory describes strategies for supporting new teachers.
• The Career Continuum for Teacher Development
  A career continuum suggested by the National Board Resource Center that incorporates three sets of compatible standards: NCATE for teacher preparation and licensing, INTASC for authentic assessments of teachers as they enter the profession, and NBPTS for recognizing accomplished teaching.
• The Definition of Mentoring
  The Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development provides a series of education topics that begin with a definition. Be sure to click on the "explore" and "resources" buttons on the right hand side of the screen in order to view short articles on the topic, audio and video files of experts and practitioners, and a listing of additional resources.
• The First Three Years of Teaching
  Resource links from the National Commission on Teaching and America's on teacher induction and support programs for the first three years of teaching.
• The First Year of Teaching
  New teachers talk about what helped them be successful. This link will take you to the Responsive Classroom Newsletters.
• The Induction of New Teachers
  Comprehensive induction programs are seen as a promising means of providing new teachers with models and tools to begin their teaching careers, as well as mentors and support groups to guide them through curriculum planning. Quality induction programs are a means of reducing the high rates of attrition within the first few years of teaching.