ECU Hosts Lawmakers to Evaluate New Teacher Program
Story by Sara Dodrill, WITN
Lawmakers Evaluate State-Funded Mentoring Program (full video story).
A group of state lawmakers stopped by a Pitt County school on Wednesday. The legislators spoke with teachers and school administrators about a state-funded mentoring program and whether it’s paying off.
The New Teacher Support Program was created by ECU’s College of Education. It’s designed to help beginning teachers by providing them with a coach who guides them through their first few years as an educator.
Several teachers at Wellcome Middle School said the program is a huge help.
Tonitia Langley said, “It has actually been very beneficial to me in my teaching craft by allowing me to have some instructional autonomy, but also giving me 21st century tools and resources to use to help our students become critical thinkers.”
Many eligible teachers don’t have a traditional teaching background, but have entered the field with a degree such as science or math.
Local legislators visit Wellcome Middle | The Daily Reflector
March 20, 2014
Three legislators visited Wellcome Middle School on Wednesday to see how new teachers are being supported as they begin their careers.
East Carolina University is one of four North Carolina universities offering new teachers help through the N.C. New Teacher Support Program. The program’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of beginning teachers through professional development sessions, plus individualized mentoring and classroom assessments, according to an ECU news release.
The program aims to develop beginning teachers’ classroom management skills and to assist teachers in understanding and applying Common Core standards and N.C. Essential Standards by providing immediate feedback on instruction, student interaction and classroom management.
ECU advisers are assisting 235 teachers in 33 schools in 10 districts throughout eastern North Carolina.
Ann Bullock, regional director of ECU’s N.C. New Teacher Support Program, discusses with Rep. Brian Brown, R-Pitt, middle, and Wilson County Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson how the program helps new teachers. (Contributed photo/East Carolina University)
Fifty-one teachers in four Pitt County schools are participating in the program.
Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union, co-chairman of the House education committee, joined Reps. Brian Brown, R-Pitt, and Susan Martin, R-Wilson, in discussing how the program works.
The representatives visited classrooms at Wellcome to see how coaches work with teachers.
Research shows one-third of teachers exit the profession within their first three years of teaching, and almost half leave the profession after five years, according to an ECU news release.
Research indicates that new teachers who participate in support programs are more likely to stay in the profession, have higher job satisfaction, greater commitment and demonstrate more effectiveness, the release said.
Lawmakers consider expanding ECU’s teacher-mentorship program
Posted: Mar 19, 2014 7:46 PM EST Updated: Mar 19, 2014 7:48 PM EST
By Andrew Ruiz, Digital Journalist – email
GREENVILLE, N.C.–State lawmakers are eyeing the New Teacher Support Program (NTSP) at two Pitt County schools—they’re looking to see if it’s worth implementing at schools all across the state.
Representative Craig Horn of Union County sat down with new teachers enrolled in the program. “We’ve got a tremendous amount of talent here and this is an opportunity for us in the legislature to see what’s being done, what the challenges are and listen to the folks.”
The NTSP program hosted by the East Carolina University College of Education provides new teachers with mentors who can help them navigate tough situations on the job, like communicating with parents or developing more effective teaching methods.
John Dunning, an English teacher at North Pitt High School says, “When you go through college, you get student teaching and then they say kind of just go out there and do it, but the reality is that we need more support as teachers and we need someone who’s there for when we succeed and when we fail.”
Lawmakers say the program’s success impressed them and that they plan on taking it back to Raleigh to see if it can be expanded.