Richland pilot program spurs statewide revision
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Oct. 16 revised state policies to enhance the mentoring and support provided to teachers who enter the profession through an alternate certification route.
Teachers who are certified in this way will now have expanded opportunities for co-teaching, collaborative planning, observation and feedback with a trained mentor.
The development springs from a pilot program created in Richland Parish.
“I’ve served as one of twenty Council Members on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Superintendents’ Advisory since 2015,” Richland Parish Superintendent of Schools Sheldon Jones said. “At our September meeting, the council considered an update report from State Superintendent John White regarding inclusion of the mentoring policy in BESE Bulletin 746 and 996. In lieu of the 80-hour pre-residency practice requirement, our district is now required to assure the state that new teachers have co-taught, been observed, or planned collaboratively for at least five hours per week in their first year of teaching. Through our TEACH Richland initiative, our focus is on developing innovative structures to better prepare and grow our own educators.”
“Every Louisiana teacher, regardless of how they attain their certification, deserves to feel fully prepared when they enter the classroom,” said State Superintendent John White. “The policy revisions adopted by BESE aim to end the practice of placing new teachers with minimum classroom-based preparation into full-time teaching roles and to provide these educators additional support and guidance as they navigate their entry to the profession.”
“Louisiana is building a cadre of educators trained to mentor aspiring and new teachers (will open in new tab),” said BESE Vice President Dr. Holly Boffy. “So not only do these policy revisions ensure alternatively certified teaching candidates have access to expanded opportunities for mentorship, but they also ensure the educators who are providing that support and guidance are highly trained to do so.”
In Louisiana, teachers earn certification as an undergraduate or through a post-baccalaureate or “alternate” certification program.
Undergraduate candidates participate in yearlong, classroom-based teaching residencies (will open in new tab) alongside an expert mentor teacher.
Alternate certification candidates typically complete their teacher preparation programs while serving as a full-time teacher. While previous BESE policy required 80 hours of pre-service practice and four observations during the year in which the candidate applies for certification, mentoring practices for alternate certification teachers have varied statewide. Alternate certification candidates have reported they did not have dedicated time to practice--or even to meet--with their mentors.
As a result, 20 percent of teachers prepared through alternate certification routes have left the profession after only two years, compared to 12 percent of teachers prepared through undergraduate routes.
In response to the increased attrition rates among alternate candidates and based on research (will open in new tab) that demonstrates a greater impact on student learning among teachers with high-quality mentors, the Louisiana Department of Education facilitated pilot programs (will open in new tab) in select rural school systems that resulted in cost-neutral models to provide expanded mentorship opportunities for these teachers.
Across all pilot programs, these teaching candidates had the chance to co-teach with a veteran educator for at least one class period per day, resulting in a 350 percent increase in the amount of mentoring they would typically receive.
The Department also released a free toolkit (will open in new tab) to guide school systems statewide in how to implement these models.
The policy revisions adopted (will open in new tab) by BESE build on that foundation by replacing the pre-service practice requirement with an assurance from the employing school systems that alternate certification candidates receive mentoring that includes co-teaching, collaborative planning, observation and feedback sessions for a minimum of 15 percent of instructional time, or 5 hours per week, in the first year of teaching.
“Our post-baccalaureate teachers participated in daily professional development as active learners. The co-teaching experience provided opportunities for them to observe and model best practices, learn and apply the concepts, and reflect with a supportive mentor. This ongoing cycle of collaborating, teaching, and learning provided the shelter needed to grow and retain our new teachers,” said Charmaine Reeves, Title I School Wide Coordinator for Bogalusa City Schools, one of the school systems that participated in the pilot program. “We are thrilled to see this work expand statewide.”