Julia Koppich and Dan Humphrey

The policy system designed for beginning teachers that California has in place assumes that most new teachers complete a preparation program and earn a preliminary credential, take a job and assume probationary status, complete a two-year induction program and earn a Clear Credential, and are tenured after two years of satisfactory evaluations. In fact, however, California’s teacher policies do not match the actual career trajectory that most new teachers follow. In this seminar, Julia Koppich and Dan Humphrey will present results from a 2013 study of California’s state policy system designed to shape beginning teachers’ careers, including induction, clear credentialing evaluation, and tenure. They will discuss several areas in which California policymakers need to reexamine the system in order to ensure that it paves the way for ensuring beginning teachers’ success in the classroom.