Section 65.APPENDIX A   Illinois Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for New Teacher Induction Programs

This Appendix A sets forth a clear framework to assist in the development of research-based programs that meet local needs and are responsive to local contexts.  The standards are broad and interdependent, describing a vision of a comprehensive and dynamic program for new teachers and those who support them.  The intent of these standards is to foster thoughtful, high-quality growth and development.  Each program funded under this Part shall meet the standards set forth in this Section. Any changes made to the standards must be approved by the Teaching Induction and Mentoring Advisory Group (see Section 21A-20.15 of the School Code). Programs must take into consideration local contexts and must:

Standard 1:  Establish an Equity-Focused Program Design, Vision, and Goals

Criterion 1.1: Create an equity-focused, comprehensive program and goals to advance student learning and accelerate teacher effectiveness. The program vision and mission are guided by current research on induction, mentoring, coaching, and teacher leadership, as well as evidence-based practices, Illinois professional educator competencies and legislation, and local context.

Criterion 1.2:  Address the unique needs of new teachers of color and new teachers from historically underrepresented groups by intentionally developing structures, processes, professional learning and supports which emphasize racial equity, the role implicit biases play in the educational system, affirming the backgrounds and identities of new teachers of color and those from other marginalized groups, and other related culturally responsive issues.

Criterion 1.3:  Work to improve conditions that affect new teacher success, their students' learning, and teacher retention with a specific focus on equity.

Criterion 1.4:  Provide adequate time for implementation and sufficient financial resources to accomplish program goals, support continuous improvement, and ensure long-term sustainability.

Criterion 1.5:  Develop and implement a comprehensive system of program evaluation and continuous improvement based upon data, vision and mission, goals, induction program standards, and program design.

Criterion 1.6:  Ensure that a broad coalition of stakeholders is well-informed and collaborates on and advocates for effective, evidence-based program implementation that aligns with the institution’s vision, mission, and instructional priorities.

Standard 2:  Engage Local Leadership Teams for the Systematic Coordination and Support of Induction, Mentoring, and Teacher Leadership

Criterion 2.1:  Utilize a team that includes teachers and administrators with equal and collaborative voice to provide time, fiscal resources, plan, implement, evaluate, and refine the program.

Criterion 2.2:  Collaborate to create a culture of commitment to teacher induction, mentoring, leadership, and improving student achievement through culturally responsive instruction and an optimal learning environment that is equitable for each child.

Criterion 2.3:  Identify program leadership to be responsible for program implementation, including daily operation, oversight, and use of data. Program leadership will be given the time, fiscal resources, trust, and authority to implement and support induction, mentoring, and teacher leadership development.

Criterion 2.4:  Provide time and resources for collaboration and coordination of induction and mentoring and train all members of the district organization including, central office, building and school board leadership, to ensure that the program’s vision and mission, goals, design, and practices align with teacher preparation, professional learning, leadership development programs, and teacher/school leader evaluation.

Standard 3:  Allocate Resources Equitably

Criterion 3.1:  Distribute allocated funds to ensure that sufficient and equitable program resources are available for induction, coaching, mentoring, leadership, and professional learning for all participants.

Criterion 3.2:  Monitor resources to ensure an adequate and equitable distribution of funds to support components defined in the program design and in alignment with the district’s improvement plan.

Criterion 3.3:  Monitor resource allocations on a regular basis in order to make necessary adjustments as needed during the year.

Criterion 3.4:  Access, align, and coordinate existing professional learning resources with the induction program.

Criterion 3.5:  Allocate sufficient, sanctioned, protected time for mentoring to foster high quality support for new teachers.

Criterion 3.6:  Support the development of fiscal reports to document allocations of resources as necessary for accountability and to promote continuous program improvement.

Standard 4:  Collaborate in the Implementation of Induction, Mentoring, and Teacher Leadership Practices

Criterion 4.1:  Develop and clearly communicate clearly defined roles and responsibilities of principals and other school administrators, through a clearly articulated, open process that utilizes specific evidence-based criteria, is centered upon the specific roles principals and other school administrators play in supporting an induction and mentoring program, new teachers, and the confidential nature of the mentor/teacher relationship.

Criterion 4.2:  Ensure that the mentoring process is separate from the performance evaluation process and employment decisions.

Criterion 4.3:  Support school leaders to implement policies, provide resources, and create conditions that promote teacher learning, development, and success for new teachers and that align to policies and practices supporting teachers across the continuum.

Criterion 4.4:  Provide opportunities for all stakeholders to participate with school leaders, as learners, in ongoing professional learning that builds and sustains the education community's capacity to advance new teacher development and mentor effectiveness.

Criterion 4.5:  Collaborate and cross-check with evidence-based practices to ensure positive mentoring experiences and to uphold the confidential relationships between mentors and new teachers.

Standard 5:  Establish Mentor Roles, Responsibilities, Selection, and Assignment Based on Evidence-Based Practices

Criterion 5.1:  Develop and communicate to all stakeholder groups clearly defined mentor roles and responsibilities through a clearly articulated, open process that uses specific evidence-based criteria and is centered upon the advancement of new teacher practice, student learning, and teacher leadership in a manner reflective of best practices.

Criterion 5.2:  Implement and continuously improve an equitable, formal, clear, and rigorous process for mentor selection and criteria that is evidence-based, consistent with mentor roles and responsibilities, and that ensures new teachers will receive high-quality mentoring throughout their participation in the induction and mentoring program.

Criterion 5.3:  Establish expectations for effective mentor practice and accountability that are evidence-based and aligned with program vision and mission and district instructional priorities.

Criterion 5.4:  Match and manage the assignments of new teachers and mentors based on multiple relevant factors, including individual teacher identities, to establish effective pairings.

Standard 6:  Create Professional Learning and Learning Communities Focused on Development of Mentors

Criterion 6.1:  Support mentors to meet the needs of new teachers. Focus must be placed on the unique needs of teachers of color and teachers from other historically underrepresented groups by integrating professional learning regarding racial equity, implicit bias, and other related culturally responsive issues throughout the course of the mentors’ work with new teachers.

Criterion 6.2:  Ensure that mentors are highly trained in the areas of evidence-based equitable and inclusive learning practices, and anti-bias and anti-racist practices, to support new teachers in advocating for and fostering learning environments that embrace and build on students’ race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/developmental/emotional ability, socioeconomic class, religion, etc.

Criterion 6.3:  Design and implement initial formal orientation and foundational mentor professional learning as the centerpiece of mentor onboarding, commencing before mentors start work with new teachers and continuing over the course of the mentors’ work with new teachers.

Criterion 6.4:  Provide foundational mentor professional learning that is guided by research and evidence-based mentoring practices, district instructional priorities, and the developmental needs of mentors and new teachers. This professional learning will develop the basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes for continuous improvement in quality mentoring, ensure the mentor has an understanding of program vision, mission, and goals, and provide sufficient foundational knowledge and skills to establish initial trust and credibility with both new teachers and school leaders.

Criterion 6.5:  Provide dedicated time, resources, and institutional support for mentors to engage in ongoing professional learning, opportunities to collaboratively apply and extend new learning, reflect on and continuously improve their mentoring practice, and provide feedback to new teachers through in-field observations.

Criterion 6.6:  Implement a system of continuous improvement and accountability for mentors that is based on reflective processes and informed by qualitative and quantitative data from mentor/new teacher interactions.

Criterion 6.7:  Develop systems to support mentors to collaboratively build new teacher instructional capacity through application of new learning, grounded in analysis of student learning and formative feedback of teaching practice that meets the variable needs and fosters strength-based partnerships with each student.

Criterion 6.8:  Provide tools for mentors to support the new teachers' collaboration and partnership with all stakeholders, specifically including families, colleagues, instructional leadership teams, and the broader education community.

Criterion 6.9:  Ensure that mentors have been adequately engaged in professional learning to provide the knowledge, skills, tools, and resources to help new teachers provide every student access to relevant, evidence-based, culturally responsive, standards-aligned lessons and curriculum.

Criterion 6.10:  Ensure the capacity of mentors to support new teachers in using blended learning, working to develop instructional supports through an equity lens, in order to meet the diverse needs of every student.

Standard 7:  Create Professional Learning Communities Focused on Development of New Teacher Practice

Criterion 7.1:  Develop and implement a comprehensive induction program for new teachers that emphasizes their participation in ongoing professional development and is focused on their continuous professional growth to support student learning.

Criterion 7.2:  Provide time, resources, and institutional support for new teachers to participate in ongoing professional learning opportunities that collaboratively apply and extend new learning, reflect on and continuously improve their practice, and seek feedback through in-field observations or collaborative affinity groups.

Criterion 7.3:  Provide professional learning for new teachers that integrates evidence-based practices, teaching and content standards, district instructional priorities, and the developmental needs of new teachers, specific to their identities, to advance quality instruction and the learning of every student.

Criterion 7.4:  Provide protected time and institutional support for high-quality induction and mentoring and professional development experiences for new teachers.

Criterion 7.5:  Develop the capacity of new teachers to use the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards to ensure students' access to an equitable and rigorous education and to ensure educators themselves are aware of their own identities, actions, interactions, and biases, as they relate to their broader educational community.

Criterion 7.6:  Develop the capacities of new teachers to meet the diverse learning needs and social and emotional needs of every student, including students with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning differences, and to uphold related laws.

Standard 8:  Enhance Collaborative Experience of Mentor and New Teacher Through Systems of Formative Assessment and Feedback

Criterion 8.1:  Ensure that mentors and new teachers use tools and protocols. These tools should include research-based activities such as mentor observations and formative feedback, evaluation of student work, analysis of student data, and engagement in reflective conversations and coaching cycles.

Criterion 8.2:  Support mentors in guiding new teachers into the development of instructionally-focused goals. These goals should reflect the district's vision, the teacher's individual strengths and areas of growth, and previously explored data points.

Criterion 8.3:  Create structures to ensure that mentors engage in confidential formative feedback and documentation processes.

Criterion 8.4:  Mentors must provide support to new teachers in navigating their district’s evaluation process by helping them to prepare.

Standard 9:  Implement A Program Evaluation and Continuous Improvement Process

Criterion 9.1:  Implement an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement toward equitable outcomes and of evidence-based program evaluation that utilizes formal and informal measures based on multiple sources of information and involves all program participants and other stakeholders.

Criterion 9.2:  Maintain collaborative implementation, evaluation, and continuous program improvement through data analysis, program evaluation, and stakeholder communication linked to relevant standards and evidence-based research.

Criterion 9.3:  Solicit stakeholder input through the development of various reciprocal communication systems.

Criterion 9.4:  Include fiscal reports as part of the evaluation to document allocations of resources as necessary for accountability and to promote continuous program improvement.

Criterion 9.5:  Systematically collect programmatic aggregated data for the purposes of informing program decision-making, improvement, and accountability.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 13208, effective July 13, 2022)