Brunswick School Department
New Teacher Induction Program
Brunswick Believes… In Professional Excellence!
“Our staff are trusted, talented, innovative professionals who work together to support, educate, and inspire our students…”
– Brunswick Believes Strategic Framework
The goals of our New Teacher Induction program align with our strategic framework’s vision, and mission and include assuring that all new teachers and professional staff members have the information, resources, support, and inspiration to successfully begin a long, productive, and joyful career as part of our team! Induction also supports our new educators in identifying and pursuing personally and professionally relevant experiences, developing and strengthening their individual and collective voice as public school ambassadors, and in maintaining job satisfaction. Levels of support are tiered and customized to honor individual educators’ strengths, needs, and interests.
- Orientation: All new professional staff members attend an orientation prior to the start of the school year. District orientation includes: a general welcome to Brunswick School Department; an overview of our strategic plan; introductions to the district administrators; information about the induction process and what to expect in the first days/weeks of school; information about accessing professional development opportunities and committee/other leadership opportunities in our district. Site-based orientation includes: a tour of the school; introductions to staff members; logistical information and resources (keys, codes, access to technology systems, curriculum information, school calendar, etc); required trainings – including our Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, suicide awareness/prevention, health and safety trainings, supervision/evaluation process, and critical policies including affirmative action, bullying, and harassment/sexual harassment policies.
- Induction:Our two-year induction program is available to and recommended for all new professional staff members, and is required for all new teachers with fewer than 5 years of teaching experience. Induction meetings are scheduled each quarter, with release time and substitute coverage provided so that our new educators are able to focus on the content and activities. Meetings allow discussion time for addressing burning issues that arise for new staff, consultancy protocols for troubleshooting situations or for pitching exciting ideas, and opportunities for developing and refining an “elevator speech” that touts the importance of public education and the roles of public educators. Year Two inductees may continue to attend the meetings, and/or may elect to pursue a project of personal interest (examples of projects include: creating a new staff handbook for each building, from the perspective of a new staff member; redesigning a program or process within one’s impact area; action research projects; joining a district-wide committee or initiative…)
- Mentoring: Brunswick School Department requires all new teachers (regardless of certification status or years of experience) to work with an Induction Mentor during their first year in our district. The main purpose of Induction Mentoring is job satisfaction for new educators; therefore, each Induction Mentoring pair will be matched by building principals, according to styles, interests, and needs of the new staff member. Mentoring activities may focus on logistical support, help acclimating within the school’s social/cultural milieu, self-designed goals around professional practice, or any combination of these (and other) activities. In addition to an Induction Mentor, new teachers with conditional certification will also be matched with a Certification Mentor through our district’s Certification Committee. Please see detailed information about Mentoring programs here: http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BSD-Teacher-Mentoring-Programs-1.pdf (PDF)