On August 29th, Newark Public Schools welcomed over 100 new teachers for New Teacher Induction Day. The day kicked off with an introduction from Superintendent Anderson. The Superintendent discussed two key initiatives launching in the 2012-13 with the goal of transforming learning and instruction: the shift to the Common Core State Standards, and Newark’s new teacher practice framework.Throughout her presentation, she emphasized her belief, shared with the new teachers in attendance, that teachers have the power to change lives.

Superintendent Anderson was followed by presentations from our partners at Montclair State University and the NTU. All of the new teachers then selected two breakout sessions to participate in. The sessions covered:

• Understanding the Common Core
• Creating a Learning Culture in your Classroom
• Using Data to Drive Instruction
• Access for all – Universal Design for Learning

We collected feedback at the end of the day from all of the participants. The information gathered from these new teachers will inform both additional training opportunities throughout the year, as well as the New Teacher Induction Days in the future.

A main priority for Induction Day was to ensure that the content was relevant both for teachers who are new to the profession and those who are new to Newark Public Schools.  Teacher responses demonstrated this effort to have been resoundingly successful. Feedback forms showed that new teachers and teachers who are new to the district were equally likely to find the day useful.

The breakout sessions were particularly popular among attendees. Understanding the Common Core was the most highly-rated breakout session, with 83% of attendees rating the session as “very useful.”  Participants also found the session Using Data to Drive Instruction highly practical, and gave high marks to the realistic scenarios used by presenters to help them practice applying key concepts in their own classrooms. Teachers were enthusiastic in their role as learners in their breakout sessions; participants in all four sessions commented that they would have liked their sessions to have been longer, and multiple respondents noted that they would have liked to have had the opportunity to attend all four sessions offered.

Over the last year, Newark Public Schools, in collaboration with educators and community stakeholders, has been working hard to develop and implement tools to accelerate student learning and teacher effectiveness, and we are committed to ensuring that new teachers have the support they need to thrive in an environment of change.   The 2012-13 school year is bringing many exciting initiatives, and we are proud to welcome a diverse and talented new cohort of educators to Newark schools to be a part of this transformation.

To download Superintendent Anderson’s PowerPoint presentation, click here.

To view the Q & A that followed Superintendent Anderson’s welcome, click here.