Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/417576
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N Los Angeles County vicinity. Each cluster has "cohorts," and Rowland's cohort consists of districts in Pomona, San Gabriel and Walnut. Even with the regional director positions eliminated, the cohort continues. New teachers in other districts with closed programs — including Bur- bank, Castaic, Glendale and Lawndale — are calling Rowland's BTSA program to see if they can join to complete induction. "There are many displaced teachers looking for help. It can be over- whelming," says Kuwaye. Other districts and CTA chapters have met with less success in working with their consortiums. Danette Brown has seen that firsthand in La Habra City School District. It's part of a consortium where a neighboring district is considered the local educational association (LEA) that received funding and provided services to other consortium members. This year that district decided to use the funds for a different purpose, and now new teachers in La Habra will have to pay $750 per year for BTSA. "If you're in a consortium, you're in a tricky place," says Brown, immediate past chair of CTA's Credential and Professional Development Committee and CTA liaison with CTC. "Associations should negotiate with their districts to make it a priority," asserts Alicia Hinde, a CTC board member. "Get your district to commit to supporting new teachers with induction no matter what." A way to achieve that, she suggests, is bargaining induction as part of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) under LCFF, and including it under one of the district's eight "priority areas" such as providing stu- dents with fully credentialed teachers, improving student achievement, or implementing the Common Core State Standards. "If that doesn't work, take it to the parents. Take it to the media. Make it an issue," says Hinde, Cambrian District Teachers Association. "Our new teachers need support. We need to speak up. We have a voice." and Early Career Support." The TEW is chaired by CTA Vice President Eric Heins. Compiled by the 48-member TEW, the report high- lights the important role CTA and locals should take in the preparation and support of the next generation of teachers. The following are among the guiding principles outlined for that work: • Teacher preparation programs require strong partnerships between institutions of higher edu- cation and Pre-K–12 school systems. • The local teachers association must take a leadership role in shaping the experiences and environments of pre-service candidates and new members of the profession, utilizing its expertise as the exclusive bargaining representative and as the professional organization representing teach- ers and other certificated educators. • Induction and early career support programs are essential to supporting and developing quality teachers. These programs must be funded and provided at no cost to the teacher. Induction has proved to be effective in California based on the teacher retention rate. Research shows that nine out of every 10 teachers (87 percent) who had been in a BTSA program in 2008 were still teach- ing five years later. The TEW is examining what kind of induction best meets the needs of new teachers. For example, TEW agrees that induction should "meet the individual needs of the beginning teach- er," and may not necessarily take two years (only one is required by law) or follow a traditional program format. This happened recently with the creation of a one-year induction program to clear administrative credentials, which is called an Individ- ualized Induction Plan. "Induction, like education, should not be one-size-fits-all in California," says Heins. "I think we can all agree on that." "Programs of the past may not meet the needs of the future," notes Danette Brown, TEW member and immediate past chair of CTA's Credential and Professional Development Committee. She's part of a stakeholder group meeting with the Commission on Teach- er Credentialing (CTC) to discuss induction practices. "The CTC is convening a formal workgroup to ex- plore what a new induction program might look like, and CTA is guaranteed to have a voice at the table," says Brown. The CTA "Teacher Preparation" report's proposals on alternative certification, teacher residencies, in- duction and mentoring programs will be highlighted in next month's Educator. " I f w e w a n t t o a t t r a c t a n d r e t a i n q u a l i f i e d t e a ch e r s , w e n e e d t o t a k e a t h o u g h t f u l l o o k a t i n d u c t i o n p r o g r a m s , " s a y s Danette Brown, i m m e d i a t e p a s t ch a i r o f CTA' s C r e d e n t i a l a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t C o m m i t t e e . Kristine Bowdry 31 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 4