Introduction

Teacher quality is a key to student achievement. Ideally, an investment in teacher quality starts when professional development needs are the greatest at the earliest stages of a teacher's career. Unfortunately, novice teachers are often assigned the most challenging students and left alone behind a closed door to either "sink" or "swim." Research shows that as many as 50% of all new teachers in the U.S. leave the profession within the first five years.

In Alaska, teacher turnover rates are exceptionally high, particularly in rural and bush districts. The Alaska Statewide Mentoring Project (ASMP) is a program that provides new teachers, especially those in traditionally high-turnover districts, with structured and consistent support from an experienced teacher who is fully released from their regular classroom duties for a two-year period. New teachers are defined as teachers who are in their first or second year of teaching. The ASMP, patterned after the nationally recognized Santa Cruz New Teacher Center, has the goal of supporting the development of a committed and highly qualified teaching force in order to improve student learning for all Alaskans.

The Mentor Project Research

2004/2005 was the first year of a three-year study examining the influences of the Alaska Statewide Mentoring Program on teacher retention, early career teacher practice, and student achievement. Research in 2004/2005 focused on the fidelity of implementation and the development of benchmarks for future comparison.

Findings About Teacher Retention and the Impact of Mentoring

• 77% of early career teachers who participated in the ASMP were planning to return to the same school and/or school district.
• 82% of new teachers who received mentoring were planning to return to teaching in Alaska.
• 82% of the participating teachers reported that their mentor was their greatest source of support during the school year.
• At the end of the school year, 78% of the mentored teachers agreed or strongly agreed that they felt effective in their teaching.

Demographic Information About early career teachers

• Approximately 2/3 of the participating teachers were in their first year of teaching, and 1/3 were in the second year of teaching. The new teachers worked in 31 out of 53 school districts.
• 67% of new teachers described their ethnicity as Caucasian, 7% as American Indian/Alaska Native. (11% did not report on their ethnicity.)
• 78% of early career teachers received their teacher preparation at an institution located outside of Alaska, and 22% received their teacher preparation in-state.

About the Mentoring Process

• 81% of early career teachers agreed or strongly agreed that their work with mentors was guided by professional teaching standards.
• Words used to describe mentors most were: colleague, friend, expert guide, and advocate.
• Face-to-face mentoring was considered optimum by both teachers and mentors. Mentors attempted to meet face-to-face with their new teachers once a month, with weekly e-mail and phone contact, however, geographic distance and inclement weather caused some variation on this schedule.
• Novice teachers and mentors focused on reflective assessment of teaching practice, the analysis of student work, instructional planning and delivery, classroom management, differentiated instruction, and standards-based instruction.

Findings About the Mentors

• The Mentor Training Academies (four three-day sessions during the school year) were viewed as prime professional development time by the mentors.
• Mentors expressed the "deep professional growth" that they made over the course of the year. Common response themes during mentor focus groups were, "This experience has made me a more reflective practitioner," and "I will take these tools and adapt them for my students when I'm back in my classroom."

Data

Participants of the ASMP in the 2004/2005 school year included 330 novice teachers and 23 mentor teachers. The data used for this research includes:

• Demographic data on mentors, early career teachers, participating districts and schools.
• Formative assessment documents completed together by new teachers and mentors
• Video-tapes of training sessions and observational field notes
• Focus groups and exit interviews of mentors
• Exit interviews of the participating new teachers
• An online survey completed by 251 of the early career teachers and 69 principals
• Engagement surveys completed by mentors and new teachers and participation logs completed by mentors

Conclusions

The fidelity of the Alaska Statewide Mentoring Project program execution is of critical importance to future research into the effects of the ASMP on teaching practice and student achievement. Research during the 2004/2004 school year has shown that the implementation of the program was consistent with that of the New Teacher Center model, and indicates a positive effect on teacher retention and efficacy. Benchmarks for teacher retention and student achievement have been set and will be assessed during the next two school years.