Induction Programs

The presentation on teacher induction programs was interesting to me. My induction to teaching was being led down a hallway to an empty classroom with a couple of stacks of books a week before school started. I was helped by the fact that I subbed in the building before, but even with that, I remember thinking many times during my first month of how helpful some sort of program for new teachers would be. I do think this would be harder for smaller school districts such as mine to implement since they may only have one or two new teachers a year. As an administrator, I would want to be careful no to overlook the seemingly insignificant type of information new teachers need to know, such as how to check school e-mail, setting up your voicemail message, how to fill out and pass around homework request forms for absent students, what to do with the white, yellow, and pink referral forms, and so on. I recall this type of stuff taking up an inordinate amount of time when I started teaching. A good induction program can reduce the amount of time it takes to figure those things out, allowing more time to focus on teaching.