Beginning this fall, teachers, principals and the CPS central administration will be able to conduct much of their mentoring business online. Here’s what the new system, called GOLDEN Teachers Online, will track:
Principals can use the system to report pairings of mentors with first- and second-year teachers, and to monitor new teachers’ progress and interactions with mentors.
Mentors can track how much time they spend with their charge, as well as log detailed information on classroom observations, discussions with new teachers and suggestions to improve teaching.
New teachers can keep a log of their progress toward fulfilling 15 hours of professional development coursework, which can be taken at a university, a professional organization or CPS workshops. The system will also allow new teachers to register for such courses online, and view their mentors’ comments after meetings and observations.
Besides cutting the amount of paperwork, the new system also will serve as an accountability measure.
“We’ll be able to see when matches were made,” says Amanda Rivera, director of CPS’ Teachers Academy. “Principals will be able to see how many new teachers they have and if mentors are working with new teachers and how often. [Area instructional officers] will get an overall perspective of what’s going on at each school.”
GOLDEN Teachers Online is one element of a larger CPS online network that tracks teacher professional development.