CHAMPAIGN,Ill. – New teacher induction and mentoring will be the focus of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative’s sixth annual conference.
Titled “Continuing the Continuum,” the conference will be March 1-2 at the Hilton Springfield, 700 E. Adams St., Springfield, Ill.
INTC is a statewide partnership of individuals and groups interested in attracting and retaining new teachers and enhancing their abilities to promote student learning in Illinois schools. The annual conference brings together new teachers, teacher mentors, policymakers and higher education personnel to learn from each other and share best practices in teacher recruitment, retention and professional development, according to Chris Roegge, the director of the collaborative.
“This year’s conference focuses on the Illinois Induction Program Continuum, a tool developed to help programs gauge progress against the Illinois Induction Program Standards,” Roegge said. “Within that framework, the 30 critical issues sessions focus on things such as differentiating support for second-year teachers and teachers of English language learners, tailoring programs for urban and/or rural school districts, and using technology to support mentoring. The use of the continuum and our own research has enabled us to target these and other specific topics identified as areas of need.”
Christopher Koch, state superintendent of education for the Illinois State Board of Education, will be the opening speaker March 1 (Tuesday).
Richard M. Ingersoll, a faculty member with appointments in the Graduate School of Education and the department of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, will be the keynote speaker March 1. A nationally recognized expert in new teacher development initiatives, Ingersoll studies professional and workplace issues in elementary and secondary schools.
Karen Peterson, a professor of education and the director of the Alternative Teacher Certification program and Beginning Teacher Induction/Mentoring program at Governors State University, will give the keynote address on Wednesday. Peterson is involved in the development of induction and mentoring initiatives in Illinois.
About 250 educators and policymakers are expected to attend the conference. The collaborative is sponsored by the U. of I. College of Education, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the State Farm Companies Foundation.
More about the conference and INTC is available online.
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