Wallingford Swarthmore launches two-year "New Professional Staff Orientation and Induction" for incoming staff

The Wallingford Swarthmore School District on Aug. 12 described a revised New Professional Staff Orientation and Induction program that begins with a two-day orientation and extends through a two-year induction period for new professional staff.

The program “is designed to provide a strong foundation that supports professionals as they grow” and to align with district strategic priorities including diversity, equity and belonging, a presenter said. The district said the program aims to ensure every student’s success by strengthening supports for new staff and integrating them into district priorities.

District staff described the program components: a two-day, in-person orientation (two full days of seven hours each), six after-school workshops of 75 minutes each, and four 45-minute sessions per year with building administrators in year one. Year two will include four differentiated sessions centered on book studies, journaling, and an optional final conference at the end of year two. The district said the optional status of the final conference is due to constraints in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The district said roughly 34 staff members are expected to attend orientation day, and about 44 new professional staff are in the pool of employees who will participate in the induction period; some long-term or returning staff are not required to attend orientation. “We expect that there’s gonna be about 35 there, but altogether, there’s about 44,” a staff presenter said.

New features for the coming year include a name change from “New Teacher Academy” to “New Professional Staff Orientation and Induction” to include nonteaching professionals; use of the Schoology platform as a centralized digital hub for induction documents and real-time submissions; an added second year of induction that includes sessions with department chairs and principals; and scheduled leadership connections that bring inductees together with building principals four times per year.

Mentorship is a central element: principals select mentors from experienced staff who meet district criteria (professionalism, content expertise, communication and coaching skills, commitment to equity). The district said mentors are paid and are expected to observe inductees, support lesson planning, and help inductees select a master teacher to observe. “Every new professional staff member has been assigned a mentor,” a board member confirmed during questions.

Staff presented course materials and texts: teaching professionals will use a handbook on professional learning communities published by Solution Tree; nonteaching professionals will use Whole Child, Whole Life: 10 Ways to Better Help Kids Live, Learn, and Thrive. The district said year-one in-person contact totals at least 14 hours for orientation plus the after-school workshops and administrator sessions; year two will consist primarily of four meetings and optional closeout activities.

District leaders said the program will collect evaluative feedback after day one to inform day two and will also collect observational data, evaluation results and student performance indicators tied to staff roles. “We’ll look at how the students assigned to these professionals do throughout the year,” a presenter said, noting the measures will depend on the staff member’s role (for example, PBIS data for behavioral health counselors or attendance for staff focused on that area).

Board members asked about numbers of mentors and inductees; the district said there are more than 30 mentors and that, while one mentor might serve more than one inductee in rare cases, the expectation is typically one-on-one pairing. The district also said mentors will receive separate professional development on day two of orientation.

The presentation concluded with logistics for the orientation (including a district tour led by Andy Benson, high school principal) and a commitment from district staff to continue improving the program through participant feedback and data review.

Ending: The orientation and induction program will begin the day after the Aug. 12 committee meeting; district staff said they will collect feedback throughout the year and adjust programming as needed.