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Re: No More BEST Program starting July 2009
Posted by newlypassed on 7/31/08

What it's not saying is what program will replace BEST.
Certainly there will be some assessment program with a new
name. There is no way CT is just dropping new teacher
evaluation altogether.

But if they do, boy I am going to be po'd! I just passed that
monster. :-)

On 6/24/08, KV wrote:
> 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.


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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.