Onboarding for Success

Moultonborough School District

Who we are

Dolores Fox, Director of Curriculum

dfox@sau45.org

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Etienne Vallée, Director of Technology

evallee@sau45.org

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Jillian Cookingham, Human Resources

jcookingham@sau45.org

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Goals for onboarding

• Benefits for students
• Staff retention
• Sustain and continually improve district culture

Benefits for students

• Consistency of programming
• Increases student achievement

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Students achievement results are higher when they are taught by teachers who have participated in new teacher induction programs (CCSESA. (2016). Best Practices in Teacher and Administrator Induction Programs [Report].).

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Staff retention

• Cost to the district of a new hire
• Maintains institutional knowledge
• Develop in house leaders (mentors)
• “Avoids deer in headlight look” on first day of school

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“My mentor was amazing! It was nice to make a connection with a staff member before school and have someone to reach out to with questions without feeling like a burden.”

44% of new teachers leave teaching in first 5 years and often are some of the teachers with the most potential (Kunkle, A. (2015). Mentoring for lifelong teachers. ASCD Express: Ideas from the Field. 11(7), 1-3.)

Sustain and continually improve district culture

• Turnover affects initiatives
• Strengthen culture through shared experiences
• Provides clear expectations for employees
• Demonstrates caring for the individual
• Connects new staff to people, facilities and programs
• Complete state mandated training requirements

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Instructional practices that align with school goals and values are more quickly adopted and mastered by teachers who participate in effective induction programs (CCSESA, 2016).

Data - turnover

Parts to Onboarding

• Summer Onboarding
• Mentoring program (teachers, administration, paraeducators)
• Monthly meetings throughout the year for new teachers and their mentors
• Para educator onboarding (summer and mid year)

Summer Onboarding

• When
• Who
• What
• How
• Why

Summer Onboarding - When

Summer Onboarding - Who

• Teachers
• Nurses
• Social workers
• Paraeducators
• Administrative assistants

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• Currently no coaches or custodians

Summer Onboarding - What

• Mission Statement
• Technology tools
• Policies
• Codes of Conduct and Ethics
• Meeting mentors
• Tour buildings
• Meeting administration
• Safety briefing

Summer Onboarding - What

Summer Onboarding - How

• Interactive and hands on activities (limit sit and get)
• Learn by doing

Summer Onboarding - Why

• Why - Structured paid block of time that is limited in duration outside regular day

Parts to Onboarding

• Summer Onboarding
• Mentoring program (teachers, admin, paras)
• Monthly meetings throughout the year for new teachers and their mentors
• Para educator onboarding (summer and mid year)

New Hires (Teachers):

New hires with previous teaching experience

New hires who are new to the profession

Mentoring: Mentoring for new hires with previous teaching experience

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The mentors:

• Mentors are experienced teachers in the school
• Positive and knowledgeable
• High school teachers not in same department

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Mentoring: Mentoring for new hires with previous teaching experience

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Mentor responsibilities:

• Provide a resource for acclimation to school culture, events, and activities;

**not instructional coaches**

• Attend summer onboarding (if available)
• Meet with mentee during “back to school” days for teachers
• Check in during first week(s) of school
• Meet at least once a month with mentee
• Not an evaluative role - No reporting

Mentoring: Mentoring for new hires with previous teaching experience

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Other info on position:

• Stipended position
• 1 year
• Training prior to mentoring

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New to teaching hires (including SBLP)

In-house mentor & Instructional coach

• Instructional coach - retired or part-time teacher (have time)
• Meets 10 times a year; 6 times before December
• Stipended position

Parts to Onboarding

• Summer Onboarding
• Mentoring program (teachers, admin, paras)
• Monthly meetings throughout the year for new teachers and their mentors
• Para educator onboarding (summer and mid year)

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Monthly Meetings Led By Curriculum Director

• Monthly to support ongoing questions
• Review in depth technology and expectations introduced in summer onboarding sessions
• Provide timely support

Parts to Onboarding

• Summer Onboarding
• Mentoring program (teachers, admin, paras)
• Monthly meetings throughout the year for new teachers and their mentors
• Para educator onboarding (summer and mid year)

Paraeducators

The mentors:

• A paraeducator at each school serves as a mentor for all new paraeducators in that school

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Paraeducators

The mentors’ responsibilities:

• Meet with new hire prior to starting (part of onboarding both over summer and mid-year)
• Acclimate new paraeducators and serve as a resource for questions
• Job shadow (mid-year hires)

Paraeducators

The mentor program includes:

• Paid Position
• Training

Paraeducator Onboarding- Mid-Year

• During school year prior to starting in a classroom
• 1-2 days of onboarding:
• Technology
• Meeting Mentor and Job shadowing (½ day)
• Policies
• Mission Statement
• Codes of Conduct and Ethics
• Mandatory state trainings are completed on subsequent PD Days

History of onboarding- always a work in progress

½ day of technology training for teachers only in the summer; no mentoring program

Two ½ days for Technology training (no mentoring)

2019 : 4 days - Added policies, Codes of Conduct and Ethics, Mission Statement, and safety; Mentors came for 2 days, including technology

2020: Move to virtual; ½ day in person

2021: Added paraeducators and other staff; kept virtual for some parts

2022: Kept virtual, added curriculum training to Summer PD program; added Paraeducator mid-year

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Improvements expected in 2023-2024

• Record messages from principal and other administrators ahead of time
• Record virtual presentations for onboarding during the year

Evaluating and Improving our Program

• Feedback surveys - once a year
• Informal feedback
• Retention data for teachers and paraeducators

Feedback we get on strengths of program

1. Assists in acclimating to school culture
2. Helps new hires better understand how the school operates
3. Supports developing professional relationships

New hires report having a person to go to ask questions was beneficial.

It was nice to make a connection with a staff member before school and have someone to reach out to with questions without feeling like a burden.

Barriers and obstacles

• Time to organize and host onboarding (especially mid-year)
• Funding for stipends, time worked during the summer, and welcome bags
• Participation from administrators

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Questions?

Dolores Fox, Director of Curriculum

dfox@sau45.org

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Etienne Vallée, Director of Technology

evallee@sau45.org

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Jillian Cookingham, Human Resources

jcookingham@sau45.org

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Contact Us!