Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/556394
found valuable for supporting Duncan. Although she worried about being a mentor at first, she loved it. "Teaching side-by-side with Ashli has been a wonderful experience. We have learned and grown together," says Pepito. "The kids benefited from having an extra caring adult in the classroom. Many said they enjoyed having two teachers. This program made me a better teacher. It helped me to refine and articulate my practice, by making me think about why I'm doing what I'm doing every step of the way." All residents make a commitment to teach in SFUSD for three years. Linzy Bingcang, who just ended her math residency at Mission High School, says the three-year commitment was a "selling factor" for her when she applied to be a resident. seminars on topics specific to San Francisco schools and students, and visit the classrooms of other educa- tors, making "instructional rounds" t o ex p a n d t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d i n g through observations. Upon completion of the residency, new teachers are supported for their first two years of teaching through an enhanced Beginning Teacher Support and Assess- ment (BTSA) induction program. They are also offered employment contracts to teach in one of SFUSD's hard- to-staff schools or subjects. The residency program also offers support services for mentoring teachers, including release time, which Pepito Students Jairo Robles and Alexis Benavidez listen to resident Linzy Bingcang at Mission High. The Value of Mentors vs. 86% 71% of mentored teachers remained on the job by the fifth year. of unmentored teachers remained on the job by the fifth year. vs. 92% 84% of teachers not assigned a mentor their first year returned the next year. of teachers assigned a mentor their first year returned the next year. Source: Study of teacher attrition by National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education; years studied: 2007-08 through 2011-12. Ariana Contreras, with T'Hea Vinson, became a teacher at El Dorado Elementary after her residency there. 27 V O L U M E 2 0 I S S U E 1