Post: No More BEST Program starting July 2009

Posted by KV on 6/24/08

FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT DEPT OF EDUCATION WEBSITE:

PA 08-107—sHB 5871

Education Committee

AN ACT CONCERNING THE BEST PROGRAM

SUMMARY: As of July 1, 2009, this act eliminates the
requirement that newly certified public school teachers
participate in the beginning educator support and training
(BEST) program. As of the same date, it also eliminates
the State Department of Education's (SDE's) authority to
fund the program and local school districts'
responsibility for providing support to beginning teachers
in accordance with the law and SDE regulations.

In addition, the act (1) eliminates the video component
from the BEST assessment for new teachers for the 2008-09
school year and (2) establishes a 21-member task force to
develop a new mentor assistance program to replace the
BEST program starting in the 2009-2010 school year and
recommend transition procedures between the old and new
programs.

The BEST Program is a two-year program of support and
assessment for new teachers. Satisfactory completion of
the program has been required for beginning classroom
teachers employed in public schools and approved private
special education facilities.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The BEST Program elimination takes effect
July 1, 2009; elimination of the video component of the
BEST assessment takes effect July 1, 2008; and the task
force takes effect upon passage.

BEST PROGRAM ELIMINATION

Until July 1, 2009, under prior law and this act, the BEST
Program provides support for teachers during their first
two years of teaching through (1) mentoring by more
experienced teachers and (2) assessment of their teaching
ability. The assessment includes classroom assessments and
review of a portfolio the teacher submits at the end of
his or her second year of teaching. Starting July 1, 2009,
new teachers will no longer be required to complete the
program satisfactorily to retain their teaching
certificates.

By law, SDE, within available appropriations, is required
to (1) administer the program; (2) provide training to
mentor teachers and those who supervise, train, and assess
new teachers; (3) pay stipends to teacher assessors; and
(4) provide funds to local school districts for (a)
substitute teachers to allow release of mentor teachers
and assessors from regular classroom responsibilities and
(b) professional development for mentors, assessors, and
beginning teachers. SDE must operate the program according
to regulations it adopts. The act eliminates these
requirements as of July 1, 2009.

As of that date, the act also eliminates requirements that
(1) school districts provide support to their new
teachers, including assigning experienced mentor teachers
to help them; (2) districts select mentor teachers and any
assessors they employ according to standards in SDE's
regulations and based primarily on mentor teachers' and
assessors' classroom experience and recognized success as
educators; and (3) the State Board of Education indemnify
those serving as teacher mentors and assessors from damage
claims arising from their activity in those capacities.

BEST ASSESSMENT VIDEO COMPONENT

Under the BEST Program, new teachers must submit a
teaching portfolio to SDE, generally near the end of their
second year of BEST participation. The portfolio is used
to assess the new teacher's knowledge and application of
the state's teaching standards. In addition to other
contents (lesson plan, student work and the teacher's
assessment of that work, and the new teacher's comments on
his or her teaching and students' work), portfolios have
to include a videotape of the teacher's classroom
instruction.

The act bars SDE from requiring new teachers to submit
videos as part of their BEST assessment. The prohibition
applies for the 2008-09 school year, which, under the act,
is the program's last year of operation.

MENTOR ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TASK FORCE

Task Force Duties

The act establishes a 21-member task force to develop a
plan for a new mentor assistance program for beginning
teachers to replace the BEST Program starting in the 2009-
2010 school year. The plan must include:

1. requirements for a new teacher to successfully complete
the new program;

2. sequential modules based on the state's teaching
standards;

3. requirements for (a) mentor eligibility, assignment,
and training and (b) the frequency of meetings between
mentors and new teachers;

4. ways to encourage collaboration among SDE, regional
educational service centers, and local school districts to
identify, recruit, and retain mentors;

5. recommended transition procedures from the BEST Program
to the new mentor program, including ways to evaluate
beginning teachers who complete one or more of the BEST
clinical assessments but have not received satisfactory
evaluations as of June 30, 2009;

6. possible exemptions from the new program's requirements
for teachers (a) with teaching experience in another state
or a private school, (b) who teach in areas where the new
program is not relevant, or (c) in other special
situations for which the task force considers an exemption
appropriate; and

7. recommendations for developing a data collection and
evaluation system to monitor the new program on a
statewide and local level.

The act also requires the task force to consider possible
legislative changes to expand the categories of people who
can become mentors and require:

1. a reduced classroom teaching load for mentors, as
determined by local school districts;

2. new teachers to receive and complete the new program in
their first two years of certification; and

3. full funding for school districts to implement the
program.

Posts on this thread, including this one

No More BEST Program starting July 2009, 6/24/08, by KV.

Re: No More BEST Program starting July 2009, 7/31/08, by newlypassed.