Here is your Mentor Matters e-news for April 2021, to keep you better informed about MVUSD Induction program news and events. 

 

It’s Colloquium Time! 

It’s that time of year again when we prepare to celebrate the efforts of our Induction candidates and provide an opportunity to have them share the results of their professional inquiry projects. If you have a year-two candidate at your site, you will soon receive your formal invitation to join us on Wednesday, May 19, from 4-6pm, for our virtual event. We look forward to seeing you! 

 

Teacher Support Network (TSN) Is Here! 

It’s official! PAR is now Teacher Support Network (TSN). The Joint Committee, after a great deal of consideration and effort, negotiated this transformation in order to reduce the wariness and trepidation many teachers felt about participating in PAR. Much of this was simply due to misconceptions about PAR and its ties to the evaluation system. It is our hope that the new title might afford a fresh start to the program and the support it can offer to any permanent teacher looking for coaching and professional learning options.  

 

Accreditation Update 

We submitted our Common Standards in late February and are on track for our site visit next fall. We officially received our site visit date, which will be October 11-13, 2021. A committee from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialling will visit our program during this time and will conduct interviews with all stakeholders, including district and site administrators, induction program leadership, mentors, and candidates. We are looking forward to the review and receiving feedback about our program. 

 

Wellness Support 

We continue to hear about the need for SEL for Teachers. We also hear stories of the incredible stress and anxiety teachers, administrator, and all of our staff members continue to labor under due to the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in due to the pandemic. Education Services will do its part by re-offering our Introduction to Mindfulness training next month on Wednesday, May 5, at 4pm. All teachers AND administrators are welcomed to attend, even if they have attended previously. Please encourage your staff members who may be experiencing a little emotional overload to join. It is a great way to find some strategies to find balance while getting paid! Registration information in the Workshop Opportunities section below. 

 

Workshop Opportunities for May 

We have the following trainings coming up over the next few weeks: 

 

• Wellness Wednesdays Most Wednesdays (except holidays), 4:00-4:20pm 
• Introduction to Mindfulness, Wednesday, May 5, 4:00-6:00 
• Know Your CalSTRS, Tuesday, May 11, 3:30-4:30 
• Task Management, Wednesday, May 12, 4:00-5:00  
• Tech Support for Teachers Retiring or Leaving the District This Year, TBD 

We also have several online trainings and training resources that can be accessed at any time. To register for these or any training opportunities, teachers can access the Canvas MVUSD Professional Development Course HERE. 

 

Support Stats 

As you may have heard, our program is bigger than expected this year! Here are the current numbers: 

Assigned Mentors: 47 

Year 1 Induction Candidates: 16 

Year 2 Induction Candidates: 28 

Early Completion Induction Candidates: 2 

Intern Candidates (Including STSP & PIP): 11 

TPSL Candidates (Long-Term Subs): 6 

Newly Hired Future Induction Candidates: 4 

 

Thank you for your support!