Urbana 116 New Teacher Mentoring Program Components

New Hire Induction Meetings:

The Induction Program is our first layer of support for all new hires. This is an opportunity to develop a community amongst your colleagues. This is separate from mentoring because this is a way for the program to provide specific support that is tailored to individual building needs. Topics that are covered include PBIS, family engagement, PERA, report cards, observations etc. It is our goal to build a very strong, comprehensive, and supportive induction structure for all new hires who are paired and not paired with mentors. All new hires are required to attend.

Novice Cohort Workshop Series

All new teachers who participate in the Novice Teacher Cohort are invited to attend this special series of workshops where we will focus on building positive relationships and engaging all students in learning. We will also spend some time looking internally at our own beliefs and practices in order to understand our role in affecting the culture and climate of the classroom. Some workshops will be differentiated by readiness for the topic and others by content. New hires will have the option of either choosing a $32/hour or clock hours equated to the amount of time in the sessions.

Novice Workshop Series 2023-2024

Novice Cohort

We offer a two-year mentoring program to all new hires who are in their first, second, or third year of career teaching. While joining this program is not a requirement, we do encourage teachers to participate in order to receive lots of extra support from a one-to-one mentor. In addition to informal support, our mentoring program consists of the following components throughout the first two years of the program.

Year One

(Novice 1~ less than 4 years of teaching experience)

40 contact hours with 1:1 mentor (20 hours in the 1st semester; 20 hours in the 2nd semester)

Year Two

(Novice 2 & Experienced Hires)

30 contact hours with 1:1 mentor (15 hours in the 1st semester; 15 hours in the 2nd semester)

Year Three (invitation/request only; special consideration)

10 contact hours with 1:1 mentor (5 hours in the 1st semester; 5 hours in the 2nd semester)

2 full-days professional release for both new teacher & mentor to use as they see fit (observe colleagues together, planning, etc.)

At least one coaching cycle with the Instructional Coach

2 full-days professional release for both new teacher & mentor to use as they see fit (observe colleagues together, planning, etc.)

At least one coaching cycle with the Instructional Coach

Experienced Cohort

When we hire teachers who have three or more years of prior teaching experience, those teachers go into the Experienced Cohort. An Experienced Cohort teacher will be included in all Induction Meetings and also be supported more informally throughout the year by an assigned Lead Mentor (for middle and high school teachers) or the Induction Coordinator (for early childhood and elementary new teachers). The Lead Mentor or Induction Coordinator will check in routinely and informally, but will also formally schedule a monthly meeting to ensure things are going well and to help determine if any additional support is needed.

If it is determined by the building administrator, the Lead Mentor/Induction Coordinator, and program administration that the Experienced Cohort Teacher needs more support than just informal check-ins and monthly meetings, then there are two options. The teacher can be moved into the Novice Teacher track or he/she can get a Support Mentor. Support mentors will provide 15 hours of contact time in whatever the area of need is for that teacher, including one day of professional leave for the teacher and Support Mentor to take together. The 15 hours isn’t intended to extend over the course of the year but to be an immediate and more intense support to provide transition from his/her previous teaching experience to the new one in Urbana. Once the 15 hours has been completed, then the support would conclude (unless more support is determined to still be needed).