Teacher Induction in California

California has a two-tiered credentialing system for teachers. Preliminary programs prepare candidates to obtain an initial teaching credential through successful completion of required coursework, fieldwork, and a performance demonstration of their knowledge, skills, and abilities. The second tier of preparation is a two-year job-embedded individualized induction program that is focused on extensive support and mentoring to new teachers in their first and second year of teaching.


Commission Resources for Teacher Induction Programs

**Teacher Induction Resources Related to COVID-19**

Teacher Induction Program Preconditions and Standards Program standards delineate the requirements an institution must meet in order to sponsor that program for candidates.  Once approved by the Commission, programs maintain that approval through cyclical Accreditation cycle activities.

California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) and the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Professional teaching standards provide the foundational expectations for the teacher induction program, with the expectation that candidates will progress towards mastery of the CSTP during their participation in induction.  With mentor-based support candidates develop their individual learning plan (ILP) goals addressing areas within the CSTP standard categories. Within the ILP candidates practice and refine effective teaching practices through focused cycles of inquiry cycles, professional support, and the practice of reflection.

Continuum of Practice 2010 (COP)  A companion document to the CSTP, the COP presents descriptions regarding what a teacher’s practice would look like on a six-level proficiency scale.  Candidates, mentors, and program leaders may choose use the COP mentoring instrument as tool to measure  candidate growth throughout program participation.

Transcript Equivalency Review for Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Level I Education Specialist Credential Holders This document provides a list of institutions that have notified the Commission that they are willing to do the review of an out of state/country prepared special educator.

Special Education Induction FAQs  Responses to commonly asked questions about teachers clearing their education specialist credentials through Teacher Induction  programs.


Teacher Induction Program Support

Teacher Induction Program and Performance Assessment Office Hours
The following office hours have changed to bi-monthly sessions on alternating weeks, held on the first and third Thursdays of each month.

AudienceOffice HoursLink to Meeting
CalTPA PS-VTW and EO Candidates4:15-5:00pm Every WednesdayZoom
Teacher Induction (TIP) Faculty & Staff9:00-9:45am 1st & 3rd ThursdaysZoom


TPA Support

TIP Coordinators’ CalTPA Meeting PowerPoint 2.22.2021

Performance Assessment Online Teaching Support Webinars Archived on CTC’s YouTube Channel
CTC offered a series of Online Teaching Support Webinars to support performance assessment faculty and candidates. Please share these webinar links with faculty and candidates who may be interested.

All webinars have been recorded and are now posted on the Commission’s YouTube Channel.
Please find the CalTPA support videos and March and April Virtual Think Tanks (VTT) here.


ED TPA Support:

ED TPA Contacts:

lori.kroeger@pearson.com
kendylls@stanford.edu

Please find the edTPA support video here.

edTPA Checkpoint Meetings Resume
The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) and Evaluation Systems (ES) has resumed monthly meetings for edTPA Coordinators (at Preliminary Programs) and individuals serving as the edTPA primary point of contact (at Induction Programs). Meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 1pm PT through June 2, 2022. If your program will be supporting teacher candidates as they complete edTPA this academic year, you are invited to join the monthly meetings for updates, resources, support, and to connect with the CA edTPA Community. The Zoom meeting link below will serve for each monthly meeting.

If you are new to edTPA and wish to be included on the email distribution list or have questions about edTPA, or need resources/support please contact Dr. Lori Kroeger, Lori.Kroeger@pearson.com.

Join Zoom Meeting
Phone only: 669.900.9128     
Meeting ID: 940 4005 5779

Special Education edTPA Informational Sessions and Field Test
The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) and Evaluation Systems (ES) will be providing opportunities for programs to learn about the edTPA Special Education Handbook for use with candidates seeking the Education Specialist credential in Mild to Moderate Support Needs (MMSN) and the Education Specialist credential in Extensive Support Needs (ESN) throughout the coming months. 

edTPA Coordinators (Preliminary Programs) and primary points of contact (Induction Programs) can learn about the assessment and upcoming field test and ask questions of SCALE and ES during the monthly CA edTPA Checkpoint meetings. If you wish to join these meetings, please contact the edTPA Coordinator/primary contact person at your program for the meeting information and link. We will also be hosting webinar presentations for faculty and staff within CA Preliminary and Induction programs throughout the fall semester. Dates for those meetings will be shared in the coming weeks. Please check the PSD e-News and with your edTPA Coordinator/primary contact person for additional information.

A field test of the edTPA Special Education Handbook for the Education Specialist MMSN and ESN credential areas will be conducted in Spring 2022. We invite all active programs approved for MMSN and ESN Educational Specialist credential areas to join us to learn more about the edTPA Special Education Handbook and the upcoming field test. If you have questions about the Handbook or field test, please contact Lori Kroeger, Lori.Kroeger@pearson.com or Nicole Merino,  nmerino@stanford.edu


RICA Support

The following RICA supports are available for Teacher Induction programs with candidates who need to complete the RICA exam:

RICA Examination Preparation
San Diego COE with Point Loma Nazarene University: A free RICA prep course for candidates who have not passed the RICA at https://www.sdcoe.net/human-resources/teacher-prep/Pages/RICA-Preparation.aspx to enroll at no cost.

Program Support for RICA
The webinar by Tulare COE on "Strategies for Coordinating Induction Support for RICA” is available here: 

Slide Deck from Meeting:     bit.ly/NTLDRICAslides 
Tool link:     bit.ly/NTLDRICAtool
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRjaJuIbamw&feature=youtu.be

Links to the RICA preparation materials available on the Examinations website here:
Some of these are very helpful to understanding how the exam is structured, what is covered, sample questions, the weighting given to various topics, and what the score represents (available on the Test Results Explanation).


Institutions Sponsoring Teacher Induction Programs


 

Foundational Commission Resources for Teacher Induction Programs        

Updated May 21, 2024