Rookie teachers given a boost
By JENNY KRINGEN
Staff Writer
BRAINERD, MN.
A pilot program, implemented this year in Brainerd, is working to make area educators' first year of teaching a little easier.
The Beginning Teacher Support System is a proposed three-year model designed to support, assess and improve the performance and effectiveness of beginning teachers.
The program also covers the basics of orientation, including meeting school district personnel and overall knowledge of the teacher's specific school building.
Loretta Norgon, a teacher at Harrison Elementary School and coordinator of the program, said Brainerd was chosen by the Minnesota Board of Teaching as one of seven test sites for funding for the program. Other sites are Chaska, Glencoe, Moorhead, Patrick Henry in Minneapolis, Rochester and a dual-effort by St. Peter and Richfield.
Norgon said Brainerd was given a grant for $30,000 to formulate its own model program in collaboration with Bemidji State University.
The main goal of the program is to help ease new teachers into their classroom settings so "they're not left thrown to the wolves," Norgon said.
After reviewing a research study in California, officials found the attrition rate high for new teachers without such a program. With a formal introduction, teachers make gradual, yet steady progress throughout their first year and into the following years.
During the first year of the program, 12 of Brainerd's first-year teachers will participate in four of the five components of a comprehensive introduction program including in-service training, monthly seminars, in-class performance assessments and mentor relationships with veteran teachers.
The mentorship segment of the program was developed to provide beginning teachers with the expertise of veteran teachers who befriend, teach, encourage and counsel the new teachers.
Brian Stark, a third-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School, was chosen as one of 12 first-year teachers to participate in the program.
Stark's mentor is fellow Riverside Elementary third-grade teacher Karen Schirmer. He said Schirmer has provided him with the necessary resources and ideas to make his first year successful. Stark said it is also beneficial to have a mentor to share frustrations with and get feedback on how to resolve them.
Stark believes the program has been successful thus far.
"I think it's been a real beneficial program as a first-year teacher," Stark said, noting he would be willing to serve as a mentor in the future.
After the teachers have completed their first year in the program they will continue in the program for an additional two years in which they will receive support through the program to specifically meet their individual teaching needs. Those teachers will also develop an individualized professional development plan to set goals for their next 10 years in teaching.
During the school year, data from all seven pilot sites across Minnesota will be collected and analyzed. The Minnesota Board of Teaching will then use that data to compare the site models and determine each program's effectiveness. Distribution of future grant funds will be determined upon this evaluation.
Norgon said she hopes special funding will be continued next year so Brainerd can continue to welcome its first-year teachers with the support of such a program.
A steering committee has also been responsible for much of the planning of the program, Norgon said. Those on the committee include Assistant Superintendent Gary Phillips, Elsie Husom, Pat Altrichter, Jeff DeVaney, Nicki Stirewalt, David Devine and Tami Jo Schmidt.
