2006-2007 The Kansas Early Career Professional /Mentor Academy

1. 2006-2007The Kansas Early Career Professional /Mentor Academy

2. Mentoring in Kansas Presently in Kansas: 37% of all Kansas teachers leave the field within 5 years 42% of all Kansas teachers leave the field within 7 years 51% of all Kansas teachers are over 45 years of age 36% of all Kansas teachers are over 50 years of age Keeping and recruiting qualified teachers will remain a challenge for Kansas

3. Mentoring in Kansas Presently in Kansas, there are programs run by: Individual Schools School Districts Educational Service Centers Universities Collaborative Alliances

4. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy2006-2007 PSU’s Academy is oldest running and largest teacher induction program in Kansas. The program has evolved over the past ten years.

5. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy A collaborative effort with Pittsburg State University USD 250 and USD 447, 248, 404, 499, 493 Southeast Kansas Special Education Interlocal 637

6. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The Structure Both Early Career Professionals and Mentors participated in: • Six Monthly Seminars • Weekly School Interactions • Concluding Wichita Conference • Graduation Banquet

7. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The program trainers include; Dr. Kent Runyan, Mentor Trainer Dr. Rozanne Sparks, Early Career Professional Trainer -KPA Specialist Dr. Maryln Dishman-Horst, Early Career Professional Trainer Trainers and Planning Board

8. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Participants • Early Career Teachers (First through third year) • Early Career Teachers (Post tenure requesting peer assistance) • Early Career Special Education Professionals (First through third year) • Early Career Special Education Professionals (Requesting peer assistance) • Classroom Mentors (Selected for positive attitude, proximity, discipline/grade similarity, and instructional proficiency)

9. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The program is open to all 1st, 2nd and 3rd year professionals and focused on: Increasing Student Achievement Improving Instruction and Management Socializing Professionals to the School Culture Reducing Isolation for New Professionals Retaining Professionals with Long Term Potential Developing Collegiality Among Professionals Training Goals

10. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Early Career Professional Material included such items as: The First Days of School by Harry Wong Early Career Training Manual Course Syllabus - Orientation Checklist Activity Time Line - Teaching Styles Parent Conferencing -Management Strategies Materials for Early Career

11. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Materials for The Mentor: The Mentorship Why Become a Mentor Characteristics of Beginning Professionals Mentor Communication Activities Mentor Characteristics The Mentorship Manual Orientation Checklist Activity Time Line Conferencing and Coaching Guidelines Teaching and Learning Styles Instruments Classroom Data Collection Instruments Video-taping Guidelines National Board Certification Portfolio Material

12. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Throughout the year, various instructional leaders covered important educational topics tied to local school initiatives and common beginning teacher concerns. Topics

13. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Topics for the Classroom Teachers • School and Community Orientation • Effective Parent Professional Conferences • Student Learning Styles • Classroom Management Strategies • Positive Discipline • High Expectations for Every Child • IDEA and the Classroom Teacher • The Internet for Effective Lesson Planning • National Board Certification • Ending the Year Right

14. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Topics for the Early Career Professionals • Time Management and Organization Skills • What It Is Like To Be Handicapped • National Board Certification • QPA and Accreditation • Positive Behavioral Support • Attachment Disorders • Adapting Curriculum • IDEA and Legislation • Autism Update

15. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy • Topics for the Early Career Professionals • SEKSEC Structure and Personnel • Compliance Issues • IEP’s and Behavior Plans • Accommodations and Modifications • Parent Professional Conferences • Special Education Internet Sites

16. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Training Topics for the Mentors: • Characteristics and Stages of Beginning Professionals • Characteristics of Growth - Oriented Mentors • Assessing Professional Needs • Assessing Teaching Styles • Using the Internet for Ideas • Brain Research • Coaching Another Professional • Rogerian Counseling • Classroom Observation Instruments • Using Video-taping to Help a Beginning Professional • National Board Certification

17. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Mentor Training Goals Mentors were trained and expected to: Conceptualize the general characteristics, needs, concerns, and expectations of the beginning Professional. Interact and communicate in a non-threatening , supportive manner. Assess specific classroom needs using checklists, assessment instruments, and personal conferences. Analyze, focus, and support specific classroom needs using peer coaching techniques. Use data collection instruments in observing class activities. Incorporate the personal, professional, and personality needs of the beginning Professional into activities and interactions. Implement developmental activities that will offer additional knowledge, skills, and attitudes for successful teaching performance. Serve effectively as a developmental mentor who can provide an orderly, personalized transition from preservice preparation to the first years of teaching.

18. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Program Evaluation: Theoretical Framework of Development Establishing Structures (Survival) • Acquiring supplies and establishing room layout • Knowing school policies, norms and culture • Building collegial staff relationships • Establishing classroom procedures and routines • Setting rules and reinforcing them to gain respect of students • Expanding subject matter knowledge • Lesson planning for high time on task • Coping with evaluation, other’s opinion, and fear of failure • Knowing parents and opening lines of communication • Developing the Science of Teaching • (Mastery) • Using various models of teaching correctly • Acquisition of innovative techniques, activities, and ideas • Asking classroom questions effectively and providing review and pra • Providing timely assignment feedback and furnishing justification for grades • Clear direction giving, illustration, and transitions so classroom activities move smoothly • Identifying learning styles, characteristics, and needs of class • Providing sponge activities to keep students busy • Managing time pressures • Developing the Art of Teaching • (Impact) • Being novel, vivid, and varied in teaching strategies • Achieving equity in monitoring, questioning and feedback • Showing high expectations for every student and motivating all students to succeed • Striving to meet the individual academic, emotional and social needs of students • Developing consistency in enthusiasm, fairness and humorous disposition • Being a role model who shows empathy, warmth, and respect to each student

19. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Other Program Components College Credit Classroom Assistance Food, Food, Food Internet Communication Confidentiality Agreement No Fault, Easy Out Policy Teacher Work Sample Collaborative PD Plans State Conference Attendance Graduation Banquet

20. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Three hours of graduate college credit is made available to all participants during the Spring semester. Some school districts will be paying individual stipends to the mentors. Stipends and College Graduate Credit

21. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Food, Food, Food Dinner is served at every session!

22. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Food, Food, Food For the 2001 Christmas session, Dr. Runyan and Mrs. Killingsworth dressed for the occasion. Door prizes were even given. A good time was had by all!

23. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Banquets For the 2002 Christmas banquet, Mark Disetti was the guest speaker and in 2003, Christy Levings. Door prizes were given and the banquets received front page coverage in the Morning Sun.

24. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Monthly Meetings This year Dr. Runyan will be selecting the menu items, so watch out!

25. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Funding comes from participant fees School district cost is $700.00 per Mentor/Early Career Teacher and covers materials, seminar dinners , trainer & speaker stipends, hotel rooms, and banquets Individual school districts will be responsible for KSDE’s Wichita conference registration fee, substitute costs, and travel.

26. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Confidentiality Agreement With each early career professional and mentor, an Confidentiality Agreement is signed to clearly understand that no activity will be used for formal performance assessment in contract renewal or dismissal.

27. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy A No Fault, Easy Out Policy Form is also signed, if needed, to allow for a process to change the early career/mentor assignment. No Fault, Easy Out Policy Form

28. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Collaborative Professional Development Plans With each early career professional and mentor, a Collaborative Professional Development Plan is used to focus classroom activities each semester. Each plan outlines objectives, planned activities, intended timeline, and verification documentation. Types of IPDP Objectives Knowledge: What you want to know that you did not know before? Application: What you want to do that you did not do before? Impact: How do you want to change student performance or classroom?

29. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Electronic Mentoring and Communication All Academy participants are linked through the Internet by email. Here, all early career professionals and mentors will have access to each other on a daily basis through emails. At times questions will foster diverse “discussion” and updated information will be made available.

30. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Kansas Performance Assessment (KPA) Every first year teacher will construct a KPA with help from Dr. Sparks to achieve a Kansas Teaching License. It will contain: Contextual Factors Learning Objectives Assessment Plan Design For Instruction Instructional Decision Making Lesson Reflection Assessment Data Analysis of Assessment Data Reflection and Self-Evaluation

31. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Year-End Conference To conclude the year, both the mentor and early career professional are invited to attend the KSDE Conference in Wichita. Over two days, past participants listened to such keynote speakers as Thomas Guskey and Terry Dozier and attended seven breakout sessions of their choosing.

32. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy For a number of years, the mentor and early career professional stayed together in the Radisson Broadview. Evening discussions centered on the points made by the keynote speakers.

33. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The evenings were spent attending symposiums: York Educational Symposium The first night, Dr. York held the Annual Educational Symposium.

34. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Sparks Educational Symposium The second evening, Dr. Sparks conducted her Annual Spark’s Symposium.

35. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy During the conference, participants choose the sessions they wanted to attend.

36. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Concluding Graduation Banquet Most years a concluding graduation banquet was held at the conference. Guest speaker was always Dr. Andy Tompkins, Kansas Commissioner of Education.

37. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy 2003 Graduation Banquet

38. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Graduation Certificate Graduates are given a Certificate of Completion by Dr. Steve Scott, Dean of PSU’s College of Education.

39. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Attending 2002 Mentors and Early Career Professionals Early Career Professionals Mentors

40. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Mentors 2003 Mentors and Early Career Teachers Early Career Teachers

41. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Over past several years, the Academy has stayed at various hotels.

42. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Also, over past several years, the Academy has hosted the graduation banquet locally.

43. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The Academy meets all KSDE Standards and contains all indicators suggested for quality Mentoring, Induction, and Peer Assistance programs. The program has received local publicity with newspaper and television coverage.

44. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy The program has also received state and national publicity in being presented at various conferences sponsored by: International Mentoring Association Association of American Colleges of Teacher Education Kansas United School Administrators Kansas State Department of Education We have been disappointed. Attendance at our sessions could have been better!

45. Kansas Early Career Professional / Mentor Academy Welcome to a new year!