Most teachers will describe their first year alone in the classroom as “trial by fire,” but Hamilton City School District’s participation in the state’s Teacher Resident Educator program helps reduce the heat.

“I don’t think I was fully prepared,” said Riverview Elementary first-year teacher Courtney Dunford, even though she completed one year of student teaching.

Through the Resident Educator program, however, she’s been paired with a teacher in the same building, teaching in a similar subject area, with a lot of experience and a mind geared toward helping her grow as an educator. Dunford teaches first grade and her mentor, Amy Davenport, is a 17-year veteran who teaches first grade Title I reading.

“I have my own file of tips that she’s given me,” Dunford said.

That file is in addition to the “blue binder” that every first-year teacher is given by Deborah Dunk, who manages the Resident Educator program, which this year has 41 first-year teachers and 28 second-year teachers. The binder includes all of the forms and documents provided by the Ohio Department of Education’s Ohio Resident Educator Program, a four-year induction system of support and mentoring for new teachers.

Successful completion of the resident program is required to qualify for a five-year professional educator license, Dunk said.

“Formal mentoring is not new to Hamilton,” Dunk said. “We have had a district mentor for many years. However, the Ohio Resident Educator Program has changed the way we deliver mentoring in Hamilton.”

“Research indicates that teacher effectiveness is the single most important school-based factor-affecting student learning,” Dunk said. “The benefit of a four-year resident mentoring program is that it provides an opportunity over a structured period of time for beginning teachers to practice, refine, and deepen their understanding of the art and science of teaching under the guidance of a state-certified mentor, a building mentor, and collaborative support of a professional learning community.”

During the four years, new teachers collaborate with the district mentors and veteran teachers in structured protocols that focus on continuous improvement in their teaching practices. They analyze their teaching practices using on-going formative assessment feedback and suggestions for professional growth.

“This on-going, job-embedded, professional development ensures their teaching practices are based on the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession and helps reduce the stress that comes with beginning a new career through a systematic program of professional support,” Dunk said.

For year one, the district provides each new teacher with a two-fold support system including the help of the state-certified district mentor — Dunk, herself a 30-year veteran in an elementary classroom — and a building mentor matched as closely as possible.

“In year two, each teacher has the benefit of state-certified mentor and the collaborative support of a cohort group of second year teachers,” Dunk said.

The third and fourth years of the program, details of which are yet to be unveiled by the Ohio Department of Education, will consist of on-going summative evaluations in which the residents will be required to demonstrate their competencies before qualifying for the five-year license.

“We value a comprehensive, high-quality multi-year induction-mentoring program,” Dunk said. “We are very proud of the level of support we provide our new teachers as they face the many challenges inherent in transitioning from pre-service education in college to becoming a successful member of the teaching profession.”