Most school districts in Connecticut offer a district
orientation for all beginning teachers before school starts. This
often includes meetings and/or workshops which address the
following:
• district coordinators’ roles;
• special education topics/procedures;
• classroom management;
• contract issues;
• time to work with mentors;
• access to and use of instructional technology;
• tips for the first month of school;
• tour of schools, town or city;
• in-classroom time; and
• overview of BEST Program requirements for beginning teachers in
year one and year two.
While this orientation is extremely helpful, building-level
orientation is also critical to a new teacher’s success. It offers
an opportunity for a principal to set a tone that lets the beginning
teacher see that she or he is an important resource person who
supports student and teacher learning. |
Building-level orientations often include some or all
of the following:
• touring the building and supplying materials;
• discussing building culture/expectations;
• answering beginning teachers’ questions;
• meeting with mentors and beginning teachers to discuss mutual
expectations/responsibilities;
• offering to coordinate mentor/beginning teacher schedules so they
can meet/observe each other;
• setting up a schedule of times for beginning teachers to meet with
the principal throughout the year (perhaps breakfast meetings or
afternoon “teas”);
• offering tips on how to be successful in the first month of
school; and
• helping beginning teachers understand how they will document their
good teaching in their BEST portfolio.
(Some principals now observe beginning teachers two days in a row to
help them begin to reflect on how lessons build on one another.) |
