Virginia

NTC Induction Policy Survey

Background
It is mandated in Virginia state law that a “beginning teacher shall have a mentor.”   The state legislature provides about 50% of the funding for this program for each district, and the district must provide the balance of the funding. 

In 2000, the state DoE developed a set of Guidelines for an Effective Teacher Induction Program. In 2003, with funding from a $13.5 million Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant from the US Department of Education, Virginia accepted 10 proposals to pilot induction programs in districts in a variety of settings across the state.  The programs were specific to the district, and varied in the style.  The only requirement was that they meet the Guidelines for an Effective Teacher Induction Program.  The grant identified three approaches that met the guidelines: 1) ETS , Pathwise program ; 2) Fairfax County – Great Beginnings; and 3) New Teacher Center at University of California, Santa Cruz.   These were two year grants with a “No Cost Time Extension”; now they are winding down, and data is being assembled to request additional funding to continue and extend the program.   

Additional information can be found at:
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/teachereducation/retention.html

Current Status
Under the prior Governor, in addition to state appropriations and the grant,  Governor Warner earmarked $1.7 million annually to support mentoring programs in hard-to-staff schools and the state developed Requirements for Mentoring in Hard-to-Staff Schools with help from the NTC.  This funding is expected to sunset after the current legislative session.  This year the legislature is facing a variety of budget problems and is focused on funding transportation rather than education, so it unlikely to extend funding for teacher induction to cover the full cost of an induction program.