Beginning teachers participate in school district’s induction program

By Sun Advocate

New teachers employed by the Carbon County School District are participating in activities specifically designed to help the educators survive in the classroom.
This is the second year of a formal induction program intended to introduce beginning teachers to district procedures as well as school culture and expectations, indicated superintendent David Armstrong.
“Not just here, but nationally, many new teachers leave the profession after just a few years because of serious issues in education like overcrowded classrooms, inadequate parental support, more school violence and shrinking budgets. The expectation of new teachers often turns out to be very different than the teaching reality they face,” pointed out Armstrong.
New teachers are paired with veteran classroom instructors employed in the school district. Many of the veteran teachers have been formally trained under the direction of the Utah Mentor Academy.
New teachers are expected to visit the classrooms of veteran master mentors, work cooperatively to design lesson plans and videotape themselves as a means of self-evaluation.
Beginning teachers must complete nine assignments organized to provide the techniques to start to evaluate their teaching and learn to develop lesson plans as well as strategies to meet the needs of students, explained district mentor program coordinator Kristen Taylor.
“Most of all, we want these new teachers to know that they are not in it alone. Carbon County is a good place to live and to work and we want to make this first year of teaching a positive, successful experience,” commented Taylor.
New teachers include Elizabeth Cunningham, Robert Gitlin and Joe Meanea at Mont Harmon; Emily Gibbon and Mika Salas at Helper Junior High; Suzanne Mansfield and Brenda Martinez at Creekview; Rex Jepson and Kale Peacock at East Carbon High; and Cathy Wilson at the juvenile detention center.