Hayes, Kaine Introduce Legislation to Provide Mentorship and Training to New Teachers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today , Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) introduced the Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act , legislation that would provide funding for school districts to enhance and or establish mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and school leaders with less than two years of experience. Companion legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). “The initial years of teaching can be extremely challenging and over 70% of beginning educators contemplate leaving the profession within their first five years ,” stated Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. “The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act is designed to incorporate supports early on to improve retention, accelerate professional growth, and boost educator confidence, setting new teachers on a successful path.” “The success of future generations and our overall economy depend on America’s teachers,” stated Senator Tim Kaine. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bicameral legislation to increase mentoring and induction programs for educators who are new to the field, so they can receive the support they need to stay in the field and do what they do best in the classroom.” The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act would authorize competitive grants for states to support school districts in bolstering or developing mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and school leaders with less than two years of experience. Specifically, the bill would ensure states and localities: Develop and sustain evidence-based induction and mentorship programs that will help novice teachers and leaders develop the skills they will need to be effective in supporting students’ learning, which include support in developing and using evidence based instructional strategies, meeting the needs of students with disabilities and English learners, fostering positive classroom environments, and engaging parents; Coordinate with their educator preparation programs to build upon and enhance the high-quality training for novice teachers and leaders and avoid redundancy; Recruit experienced and effective mentor educators who will support new teachers and leaders in their first two years of teaching or leading. Mentor educators must have demonstrated effectiveness in their roles as educators, taught in the same or similar field, grade, or subject as the mentee, and facilitated collaboration and adult learning; Compensate and provide release time for mentor educators; and Prioritize areas of concentrated poverty with the most significant turnover and staffing challenges. The bill will also provide additional mentoring, and induction supports for rural or remote areas schools and areas with limited administrative capacity. A link to full text of the bill can be found here . The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act has been endorsed by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, All4Ed, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), Center for Learner Equity, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning , Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Deans for Impact (DFI), EdTrust, Educational Testing Service (ETS), InnovateEDU, Learning Forward, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), National Education Association (NEA), National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA), National Principals Association, National Rural Education Association (NREA), National School Boards Association (NSBA), National Urban League (NUL), Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, Third Way.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today , Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) introduced the Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act , legislation that would provide funding for school districts to enhance and or establish mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and school leaders with less than two years of experience. Companion legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). “The initial years of teaching can be extremely challenging and over 70% of beginning educators contemplate leaving the profession within their first five years ,” stated Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. “The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act is designed to incorporate supports early on to improve retention, accelerate professional growth, and boost educator confidence, setting new teachers on a successful path.” “The success of future generations and our overall economy depend on America’s teachers,” stated Senator Tim Kaine. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bicameral legislation to increase mentoring and induction programs for educators who are new to the field, so they can receive the support they need to stay in the field and do what they do best in the classroom.” The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act would authorize competitive grants for states to support school districts in bolstering or developing mentoring and induction programs for new teachers and school leaders with less than two years of experience. Specifically, the bill would ensure states and localities: Develop and sustain evidence-based induction and mentorship programs that will help novice teachers and leaders develop the skills they will need to be effective in supporting students’ learning, which include support in developing and using evidence based instructional strategies, meeting the needs of students with disabilities and English learners, fostering positive classroom environments, and engaging parents; Coordinate with their educator preparation programs to build upon and enhance the high-quality training for novice teachers and leaders and avoid redundancy; Recruit experienced and effective mentor educators who will support new teachers and leaders in their first two years of teaching or leading. Mentor educators must have demonstrated effectiveness in their roles as educators, taught in the same or similar field, grade, or subject as the mentee, and facilitated collaboration and adult learning; Compensate and provide release time for mentor educators; and Prioritize areas of concentrated poverty with the most significant turnover and staffing challenges. The bill will also provide additional mentoring, and induction supports for rural or remote areas schools and areas with limited administrative capacity. A link to full text of the bill can be found here . The Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act has been endorsed by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, All4Ed, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), Center for Learner Equity, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Deans for Impact (DFI), EdTrust, Educational Testing Service (ETS), InnovateEDU, Learning Forward, National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), National Education Association (NEA), National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA), National Principals Association, National Rural Education Association (NREA), National School Boards Association (NSBA), National Urban League (NUL), Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, Third Way.
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