2013 PWCS Connect Induction System Orientation
SCHOOL-BASED ORIENTATION Guidelines
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Principals, lead mentors, mentors and other key staff will use the guidelines below to plan and implement schoolbased orientations. This day is required for all educators new or returning to the School Division. You may wish to
invite educators transferring from another school within the Division to join you for at least part of the day. We
strongly encourage you to involve the Educator Support Team and other mentors in planning the school-based
orientation.
The expectation for a full-day School-Based Orientation has been set forth by Dr. Walts. Data from previous years,
clearly articulates that our new educators are overwhelmed. In response to this feedback, significant changes have
been made to the central orientation. As you plan your school-based orientation, we ask that you consider
orientation as one part of a comprehensive induction system, and prioritize accordingly. The attached planning
materials will help you to backward plan the first month for beginning educators.
In order to collect data on the effectiveness of this orientation, educators will complete an evaluation survey. This
data will be used to help identify successes, effective strategies, and ways to make the most impact on this day.
Data from the 2012 School-Based Orientation suggests that the highest-leverage strategies:

Built awareness of the school’s community (e.g., bus tour of the attendance zone, review of school
demographics and other data, etc.)

Developed competency in using Division technologies (e.g., GroupWise, School Fusion, etc.)

Developed curriculum awareness (e.g., team planning, pacing, materials and resources)

Allowed for significant time in the classroom
Areas of concern identified as ineffective included:

Redundancy of information presented at central orientation and during the teacher work week

Exclusion of information regarding GroupWise, Chancery, and grading

Reading the school handbook

Lack of attention to the first days/weeks of school

Too much information in a short period of time
Office of Professional Learning
4.11.13
2013 School-Based Orientation
Outcomes
By the end of the school-based orientation new faculty will be able to:
1) Describe the professional obligations and instructional expectations at the school.
2) Describe the school’s discipline and management policies.
3) Describe the school’s expectations for lesson and unit planning.
4) Describe the school’s culture and clientele.
5) Describe the supervision and evaluation process and the role of the teacher in this
process.
6) Identify and meet key building personnel and understand the pertinent roles and
responsibilities of each.
7) Locate and acquire curriculum and teaching resources.
8) Access GroupWise, School Fusion, Chancery, professional development catalog, and
other technological resources.
9) Additional outcomes determined at the school level
What is tight?
What is loose?
August 22, 2013
Each school must conduct a full-day School-Based
Orientation for all newly hired educators.
Differentiation for experienced and zeroexperienced educators
Required presence of the educational leader
(administrative) and representatives of the mentor
program at some point during the structured part of
the day.
Inclusion of:
 Orientation to the culture, discipline plan,
professional expectations, and instructional
expectations of the school.
 A variety of engaging learning activities
 Inclusion of building expectations regarding
standards based unit plans, lesson plan templates,
assessments, etc.
 Time for classroom or workspace preparation
and/or review resources (1/2 day if possible)
 Completion and submission of SBO evaluation
data
 May take place during teacher work week:
 Preparation of GroupWise accounts, School
Fusion, and other technology issues (if not able to
accomplish this on August 22, please provide
educators with information as to when this will
happen)
Inclusion of in-county transfers
Exact time and duration of topics
Learning activities used
Persons responsible for facilitating activities
Office of Professional Learning
4.11.13