Overview of BEST Support and Assessment for teachers of Bilingual Education, Elementary Education, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Special Education, Visual Arts and World Languages
Year One
• School-based support is required in the form of assignment of a mentor or support team and a district orientation to BEST. The district must also ensure that a beginning teacher has at least biweekly meetings or other forms of contact with the mentor or support team members. Release time (at least eight occasions) is provided for beginning teachers to observe or be observed by their mentors or support team members or for professional developmentrelated activities.
• State-based support is available through both content-specific, regionally scheduled seminars, online learning units, and BEST orientation sessions.		 Year Two
• School-based support is recommended in the form of assignment of a mentor or support team.
• State-based support is available through regionally scheduled content-specific seminars (2 for each content area) in the fall and online learning units.
• Assessment is required with submission of BEST portfolio in early May.		 Year Three
(Only required for teachers not meeting the portfolio standard in year two)
• School-based support is recommended in the form of assignment of a mentor or support team.
• State-based support is available in the form of a Portfolio Assessment Conference and through the BEST regional seminars and online learning units.
• Assessment is required with submission of second BEST portfolio in early February.

One year of school-based support is required for the following teachers (even though there is no BEST portfolio assessment requirement): Business Education, Health Education, Home Economics, Technology Education, Agriculture, Partially Sighted, Hearing Impaired, Blind, Marketing Education, Occupational and Trades-Related Subjects in Vocational-Technical Schools, Occupational and Trades-Related Subjects in a Comprehensive High School, and TESOL.