Sue Hall Named District Support Person of the Year for 2016-17!

Induction Program Coordinator Sue Hall was recognized at last week’s District and Site Employee of the Year celebration for her outstanding service to all of the teachers of the Murrieta Valley School District.  Superintendent Patrick Kelley shared how much her tireless efforts meant to the lives of teachers and their students.  In addition to her work in the induction program, Sue supports the implementation of the district’s intervention programs, including Read 180, Math 180, and System 44, and is an advocate for the special education and foster youth programs.  Sue also faced an extra challenge last school year running the Induction Program while Staff Development Coordinator and Induction Program Director Sean McCarthy was on leave during the spring semester.  This was a much deserved recognition for the wonderful work Sue does on behalf of teachers and students!

Mentors Named Site Employees of the Year

In addition to Sue Hall, some of our outstanding induction mentors were also honored as their school site's employees of the year.  These included Ocean Walker from Dorothy McElhinney Middle School, who teaches intervention programs, and PE teacher Emily Ham and mathematics teacher Jennifer Uecke-Barnett who are both at Thompson Middle School.  We are so proud to count them among our excellent mentor teachers!

Network Meetings in Full Swing

The new Induction standards are in full implementation, and with that a new program-wide focus on mentoring and individualized support that began last year with the current class of Year 2 candidates.  Our monthly sessions now revolve around Network Meetings that provide candidates an opportunity to explore key components and assess themselves against essential standards as a springboard to launching into professional inquiry.  

Our 21 Year One Candidates have already had a busy Induction experience, starting with their Orientation, which, in addition to an overview of the program and its requirements, included an acceptable use talk from Director of Technology Ken Balliger who explored the do's and don'ts' of digital interactions with parents and students. Candidates also had the opportunity to attain their Social Media clearance at this orientation.  We also launched right into our first Network Meeting inquiry topic: How Do I Create Safe and Effective Learning Environments for My Students?  This provided candidates an opportunity to immediately interact with and connect with their mentors while becoming familiar with using the Continuum of Teaching Practice as a tool for self-assessment and reflection. The September Network Meeting gave the candidates a chance to do a little review while jumping into the next Component: How Do I Collaborate with Families, Colleagues, and/or the Community to Support Teacher and Student Learning?  

For our 22 Year 2 Candidates, the September Network Meeting was also jam packed. In addition to reviewing program requirements, Candidates were introduced to their Action Research Project requirements, which will be the focus of their efforts during the fall semester.  These projects will give them an opportunity to do a deep dive into a topic of their choice to enhance teaching and learning in their classroom while also developing their ability to conduct effective professional action research and inquiry. After this introduction, they then explored the September Year 2 Component: How Do I Design and Deliver Culturally Responsive Pedagogy?