Exemplary Induction Programs

Results of an Effective Induction Program

The ultimate purpose of an effective induction program is student achievement. On student achievement we can look at two books written by Mike Schmoker. The first book, Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement, reports that three characteristics exemplify continuous school improvement:

• Ensuring meaningful teamwork
• Setting clear, measurable goals
• Regularly collecting and analyzing performance data7

In his second book, The RESULTS Fieldbook: Practical Strategies from Dramatically Improved Schools, he shares the "eminently replicable and adaptable" core practices of five school districts that have produced short- and long-term, measurable achievement results.8

"A rapidly growing number of schools have made a momentous discovery: When teachers regularly and COLLABORATIVELY review assessment data for the purpose of improving practices to reach measurable achievement goals, something magical happens," says Schmoker. And that magic is student achievement. How? By having people working collaboratively as a team.

Schmoker further says, "Cultivating and capturing teacher expertise is one of the most grossly underused assets in education." Accordingly, he dedicates his book "to the day when we regard TEACHERS and their organized expertise as the center of school improvement."

The staffs of the five school districts he profiles have three common characteristics:

1. They are goal-oriented.
2. They function in data-driven collaboration.
3. They conduct ongoing assessment.

For this to happen, mentoring ALONE will not produce the desired results. Mentoring is concerned with supporting an individual teacher. Induction is a group process, one that organizes the expertise of educators. When you have a collaborative culture, people will climb mountains, move mountains, and do whatever it takes-for the sake of the students.

Mentoring is caring for an individual, whereas induction is caring for the group. Teaming mentoring with the induction process will yield student achievement.