Like many districts around the country, the Hampton City Schools (HCS) in Hampton, VA, are facing some pretty big challenges. Low salaries, early retirements, inadequate funding, and concerns about teachers’ quality of life have made recruiting and retaining teachers difficult. Add to that a rising student enrollment which creates a demand for more teachers and the end result is a growing number of teachers with no experience.
Citing research that says that new teachers do less to raise student achievement than veteran teachers do, HCS formed its New Teacher Induction Program. Not only did student achievement rise, but teacher quality was enhanced, and the district was able to increase teacher retention.
Through collaboration with the Hampton Education Association, HCS created a comprehensive induction and mentoring program for first-year teachers. Special funding from the state along with partners that include the Virginia and National Education Associations, a retired educators association, and several area colleges, provide the induction program that draws from the expertise and knowledge of experienced and retired teachers, instructional leaders, higher education faculty, and the business community.
The program begins during orientation when each new hire meets with instructional leaders and is assigned to a veteran teacher at his or her school. The veteran serves as a building mentor to the new teacher and remains with him or her for three years. In return, building mentors receive a stipend and points toward recertification.
Even more help is given to teachers with no teaching experience. Each is paired with a retired teacher mentor who coaches them during the instructional day. They provide feedback, expertise, and immediate support in classroom management and effective instructional techniques and also assist with other aspects of teaching. During their first semester of teaching, each new teacher spends at least 25 contact hours with his or her retired teacher mentor.
In addition to providing mentors, the district also offers new teachers the support of a teacher specialist, another key component of the program. The teacher specialist coaches new teachers during their first five years by visiting their classroom, observing and providing feedback, facilitating discussion groups, modeling lessons, and presenting workshops.
The New Teacher Induction Program has been very successful. Prior to implementing the program, the teacher retention rate was 68 percent. It is now at 78 percent districtwide and increases to 82 percent for teachers with both a building mentor and a retired teacher mentor. Focus groups and surveys attribute this success to three things:
In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that the program has had a positive affect on student achievement.
—“A Partnership of Expertise and Knowledge,” by Su Lively, Hampton City Schools, VA, Public School Insights Web site 
, posted Sept. 17, 2008.
