INDEX:

• The responsibility of Illinois MENTORS
• The responsibility of Illinois BEGINNING TEACHERS
• The responsibility of Illinois beginning teacher SUPERVISORS/EVALUATORS
• The responsibility of Illinois INTERMEDIATE SERVICE CENTERS
• The responsibility of Illinois UNIVERSITIES WITH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
• The responsibility of the Illinois STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

• Attend and actively participate in the initial and any on-going mentor training and support groups.
• Ensure completion of the district's orientation checklist.
• Provide personal and professional support to new teachers
• Ensure that proteges have access to needed resources and information.
• Model and then discuss effective teaching practices at least four times a year for an amount of time suitable to the purpose of the visitation.
• Participate with the protege in mutual observation and data collection about instruction and in the necessary follow up and planning conferences:
  • - In year 1 for at least an average of once a month beginning in the third month of the school year
  • - In year 2 for at least an average of once a month beginning in the second month
  • - In year 3 for at least an average of four times during school.
• Provide non judgmental feed back to the protege regarding areas the protege has identified for growth. Mentors are not to participate in any evaluation of proteges.
• Learn about and implement with the protege joint, on-going action research projects which inquire into and improve their practice of teaching.
• Implement activities to foster protege reflection and self-analysis for strengths and areas for growth
• Facilitate the development and on-going refinement of a professional development plan.
• Facilitate the development and on-going refinement of the protege's professional development portfolio
• Create and continually update a personal professional development portfolio illustrating the mentor's growth in teaching and mentoring.
• Take the initiative in developing and maintaining a trusting personal and professional relationship with the protege
• Continually assess the needs and the readiness of the protege for additional growth and appropriate challenges.
• Determine one's own mentoring style and continually adapt that style to the needs and skills of the developing protege.
• Complete the required district documentation (eg. contact log, journal, etc.) and program evaluation.
  
  

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It is the responsibility of Illinois BEGINNING TEACHERS to:

• Attend the district's beginning teacher orientation.
• Attend and actively participate in the initial and any on-going protege training and support groups.
• Work with the mentor to complete the district's orientation checklist
• Provide personal and professional support to the mentor teacher and other beginning teachers.
• Seek out needed resources and information.
• Observe and discuss effective teaching practices at least four times a year for an amount of time suitable to the purpose of the visitation.
• Participate with the mentor in mutual observation and data collection about instruction and in the necessary follow up and planning conferences:
  • - In year 1 for at least an average of once a month beginning in the third month of the school year
  • - In year 2 for at least an average of once a month beginning in the second month
  • - In year 3 for at least an average of four times during school.
• Accept non judgmental feed back from the mentor regarding areas the protege has identified for professional growth. Mentors will not evaluate their proteges.
• Learn about and implement with the mentor joint, on-going action research projects which inquire into and improve their practice of teaching.
• Participate in reflection and self-analysis to determine your strengths and areas for growth
• Facilitate the development and on-going refinement of a professional development plan.
• Develop and continually refine a professional development portfolio which will serve as the documentation needed for the assessment which leads to the granting of a standard teaching license.
• Provide feed back to the mentor concerning the protege's needs, concerns, and interests regarding the work of professional educators in general, the protege's work in specific, and the helpfulness of the support of the mentor.
• Work to develop and maintain a trusting personal and professional relationship with the mentor.
• Determine one's own mentoring preferences and developing teaching strengths. Continually work with the mentor to allow differences to become strengths and resources that enhance each other's learning and the increase the success of the mentoring team.
• Complete the required district documentation (eg. contact log, journal, etc.) and program evaluation.
  
  

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It is the responsibility of Illinois beginning teacher SUPERVISORS / EVALUATORS to:

• Attend, during the first year, at least one each of the initial mentor and protege trainings, one each of a mentor and a protege support group, and the appropriate portions of the orientation.
• Learn the expectations and guidelines for the protege, for mentors, and for principal/supervisors relative to the mentoring and induction program.
• Provide in a timely manner, any recruiting information about the protege's background to the mentor selection and matching committee which might inform their work.
• Limit the beginning teacher's work load, number of preparations, and extra curricular assignments as much as is reasonable, and protect the protege from overly difficult student assignments so that the protege is not overwhelmed with the combination of teaching responsibilities, extra curricular work, the mentoring, and state induction requirements necessary for licensure.
• Work with the mentor to facilitate:
  • - arrangements for required released time for observation and conferences
  • - Sharing at the beginning of the year with the mentor any initial information about the protege's background which is available from the recruitment process.
• Respect the need for confidentiality between mentor and protege
• Observe and evaluate the beginning teacher using the district evaluation process.
• Inform the mentor of areas in which the protege needs to improve.
  
  

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It is the responsibility of Illinois REGIONAL OFFICES OF EDUCATION AND INTERMEDIATE SERVICE CENTERS to:

• Designate a professional development staff person as the Induction Specialist and to support that person in attending training necessary to assume the following assigned induction responsibilities:
• Provide training to school districts and other interested Partners regarding the requirements of the Illinois Induction Initiative, the program standards and alternative models, and ways to access any state and other funding to support induction program development or refinement where needed.
• Assess the extent of existing induction and mentoring programs in each district in the region and of any collaborative induction or mentoring programs between districts and universities.
• Facilitate a forum for all interested districts and other Partners to:
  • Assess the ability and preference of each district to individually address the requirements of the Illinois Induction Initiative.
  • Assess the various needs for collaborative or regional programming to provide components of the required induction program to every beginning teacher.
  • Create a Regional Induction Plan and time line for providing those services deemed appropriate at the regional level.
  • Consider the need for a regional Induction Advisory Committee to fulfill any of the needed regional functions stated in the regional plan
• Critique district induction plans by comparison with the Illinois Induction program standards and offer advice and technical assistance to the district to refine the plan so that it meets the standards
• Provide advice and assist any of the Partners concerning effective induction/mentoring practices.
• Provide assistance to Partners with grant writing and other technical assistance as appropriate to support the development and refinement of effective induction programs.
• Provide in a professional library, relevant books, training manuals, videos, audio tapes, and information about how to access other mentoring and induction resources.
• Conduct those workshops and trainings identified in the collaborative Regional Induction Plan.
• Participate as required in evaluation of the protege professional development portfolios.
• Cosponsor an annual Regional Induction Conference to promote sharing of best practices in mentoring and induction and to facilitate the collection, writing, and distribution of a regional "knowledge-base" of those effective practices.
• Cosponsor the attendance of regional representatives at the annual state Induction Conference.

• Designate a faculty person who will serve as the university's representative to any regional Induction Initiative Partnership meetings and activities.
• Participate as a full partner in the regional planning and conduct of any trainings, provision of resources and information as is appropriate to support the beginning teachers in the induction programs in school districts in the region.
• Serve as needed as one of the regional resources with the ROEs/ISCs to school districts concerning action research and program evaluation methods, instruments, and processes.
• Work collaboratively with districts and ROEs/ISCs to help assess the need for and to provide staff development opportunities which target the needs of mentors and proteges and other Induction Initiative Partners.
• Conduct and disseminate research done in the schools and at Partnership events which contributes to the knowledge-base of effective mentoring and mentor/induction program practices.
• Provide assistance to Partners with grant writing and other technical assistance as appropriate to support the development and refinement of effective induction programs.
• Provide ways for all teacher education faculty and administration to become familiar with and to attend some of the district, regional and state level Induction Initiative activities.

• Designate a staff person as the state Induction Specialist and to support that person in attending training necessary to assume their assigned induction responsibilities
• Provide funding and training for school districts, ROE Induction Specialists, university representatives, and other interested Partners regarding the requirements of the Illinois Induction Initiative, the program standards and alternative models, and ways to access any state and other funding to support induction program development or refinement where needed.
• Provide ROEs/ISCs with an instrument to compare to the standards and guidelines any existing induction and mentoring programs in each district in their region and of any collaborative induction or mentoring programs between districts and universities.
• Provide funding and other resources for regional forums for all interested districts and other Partners to:
  • Assess the ability and preference of each district to individually address the requirements of the Illinois Induction Initiative.
  • Assess the various needs for collaborative or regional programming to provide components of the required induction program to every beginning teacher.
  • Create a State Induction Plan and time line for providing those services deemed appropriate at the state level.
  • Consider the need for a state Induction Advisory Committee to fulfill any of the needed state functions described in the state induction plan
• Disseminate the Illinois Induction program standards and the requirements for district induction plans which are necessary to apply for state funding for induction programs.
• Disseminate the Illinois Induction Initiative RFP for districts to seek state funding for pilots
• Provide additional funding to ROEs and ISCs to increase the number of books, training manuals, videos, audio tapes and other mentoring/induction resources available in their professional library.
• Provide additional funding to ROEs and ISCs to conduct the workshops and trainings identified in their collaborative Regional Induction Plan.
• Provide a system for evaluation of the protege professional development portfolios and the decison making structures necessary to decide about granting of teacher licenses.
• Cosponsor with the ROEs and ISCs an annual Induction Conference in each region to promote the sharing of best practices in mentoring and induction and to facilitate the collection, writing, and distribution of a regional "knowledge-base" of those effective practices.
• Cosponsor with the ROEs and ISCs an annual state Induction Conference and the attendance of representatives from each region and presenters from other states with effective programs.
• Work with the Illinois General Assembly, foundations, the Federal Government, and other funding
• sources to generate funding for induction program pilots and other necessary "start up costs".
• Work with the Illinois General Assembly to generate permanant funding for mentor stipends, on- going training, regional and state Induction Conferences, ROE and ISC induction services, and other necessary induction program costs, to ensure that beginning teachers in Illinois are the best available teachers.