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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 6, 2017 03:50 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative James R. Roebuck, Jr. |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Teacher Mentor Program |
| I plan to introduce legislation that will create a statewide comprehensive Teacher Mentor Program administered by the Department of Education. This program will provide training to teachers so they may serve as mentors to beginning teachers during a two-year induction time period. The structure of this Teacher Mentor Program will be based on a similar, successful PA Inspired Leadership Standards program for school leaders but will be designed to train current and retired teachers on active status who wish to become mentors. This program will consist of multiple forms of support for mentors that will benefit beginning teachers going through a longer, more intense induction program in order to improve teacher retention and enhance student achievement. Mentors will not only be advantageous to beginning teachers in their first years of teaching, but also to newly hired professional personnel with prior school teaching experience, teachers in prekindergarten programs, long-term substitutes hired for 45 days or more and educational specialists. It is my hope that this legislation will also help reduce turnover rates of beginning teachers in schools especially those in high poverty - high minority areas in rural and urban schools. It is estimated that a teacher who leaves the profession during the induction years costs taxpayers more than $50,000. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, statistics show that induction and mentoring policies are fiscally prudent and also have a positive effect on teachers’ job satisfaction and performance. If you have any questions regarding this legislation or wish to cosponsor this legislation, please contact my office at 717-787-7044. |
Introduced as HB1023