By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
The Mentoring and Induction Program at Princeton Regional Schools was lengthened from five to seven years at the board of education meeting last week.
The program is designed to help new teachers acclimate to both the classroom and the school system. During the sixth and seventh years, the teachers will become mentors so they have the opportunity to assist new teachers in much the same way they were assisted.
The research shows that teachers who have gone through mentoring and induction programs have students with test scores higher than those who haven’t gone through an induction program, according to Assistant Superintendent Lewis Goldstein.
”You have to be able to have the tools to respond to the challenge, and that is what the mentoring and induction program is all about giving teachers the tools to respond and be effective and really work with all students, not just some students,” he said.
The mentoring program provided a basis for growth and support, it also helped in recruiting, Mr. Goldstein said, citing that teachers were concerned about the degree of support offered by a school system.
”When you give teachers support and you encourage professional growth through professional development opportunities, what you’re really doing is rewarding students,” Mr. Goldstein said. “You’re enriching the academic life of students, and thereby basically improving student achievement.”
”Mentoring is basically an isolated process,” Mr. Goldstein said. “Mentoring is all about the mentor, pretty much a singular process. But induction is all about professional growth.”
The two features teachers seem to appreciate the most are the master teacher observation and the design-your-own workshop, the latter of which allows the teachers to take one day to pursue any professional development they think will suit their particular needs. Participation in the program totals approximately 30 to 40 hours per year, said Mr. Goldstein.
Instructional technology has been a primary focus of the program this year. Liz Lien, instructional technology coordinator, along with several teachers made a presentation to the Board of Education about how their training had enhanced the classroom experience for their students.
The workshops included learning to build Web pages, how to blog and how use the available classroom technology more effectively.
Monica Conroy, an eighth-grade English teacher at John Witherspoon Middle School, creates Google Earth trips for her students. So, when they study “Romeo and Juliet” the students can see Verona, Italy. The site allows you to link to videos and articles, and she can include analysis questions with it. The students thought it was interesting to see that people get married on Juliet’s balcony, she said.
”It’s so interactive,” said Ms. Conroy, “and the great thing is that they can then bring it up at home and look at it.”
”The payoff is in the results. The payoff is in their web pages. The payoff is in their technological literacy now and in the classroom,” Mr. Goldstein said. “Students are getting the benefit of this technological knowledge.”
When Mr. Goldstein came to the school in 2000, there was an informal mentoring program, but there was nothing really in place.
His first year in the district they put together a one-year program for new teachers that consisted of workshops on classroom management, pacing lessons to diverse learners, and observing master teachers in the district.
The program has expanded over time. By the time it became a five-year program, it was nationally recognized by the New Teacher Center.
”Having somebody there for you on a professional basis, every profession has some sort of apprentice or mentorship with individuals that you can go to, but education is one of the few that really don’t, and you have to seek out a mentor.”
The strength of the program is that it’s run by teachers.
”When you have teachers running a teacher-based program, it’s a very strong message as opposed to me saying this is how it should be done,” Mr. Goldstein said. “It’s really a program for teachers, by teachers, with administrative support.”

