WHEREAS, NYC public schools welcome thousands of new teachers to our classrooms every school year; and

WHEREAS, many of these teachers have had no direct experience instructing students prior to their program assignments on the first day of school; and

WHEREAS, our newer educators benefit from the experience of their colleagues; and

WHEREAS, on site mentoring by an experienced educator is an integral element of the new teacher induction process and is mandated by NYS law; and

WHEREAS, teachers who are mentored by educators with experience in their license area receive content specific support that is helpful to their professional growth; and

WHEREAS, teachers hired in New York City must be mentored during the first year of service, for a minimum of 2 periods per week over a 10 month period; and

WHEREAS, according to the collective bargaining agreement, each school must have a New Teacher Induction Committee that is staffed by the chapter leader and other members of the school community to ensure that all new teachers are assigned a mentor; and

WHEREAS, in schools where mentoring does not take place as mandated, teachers are left to figure out how to plan lessons, lead activities that push students to think critically, and successfully engage with students and families as well as their colleagues; and

WHEREAS, teachers who have not been mentored face challenges in completing the state mandated probation period; be it therefore

RESOLVED, that the UFT will work with our chapter leaders to ensure that New Teacher Induction Committees are functioning properly in their schools; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT will urge the DOE to require superintendents to honor the professional support of our newest members by holding principals accountable for the induction of new teachers to their schools, including but not limited to assigning a mentor and ensuring time to do the mentoring to meet state requirements and providing other types of support like a supportive environment, collegiality, time for professional learning, and curriculum; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT will urge the DOE to require principals to provide an additional year of mentoring to probationary teachers who completed their first year of teaching without having received sufficient mentoring hours.