College of Education News

INTC conference focuses on induction, mentoring for new teachers in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — New teacher induction and mentoring is the focus of a statewide conference to be held Feb. 22-23 in Springfield. The event is the seventh annual conference organized by the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative (INTC), Illinois' only annual statewide conference devoted to new teacher induction and mentoring.

Conference planners expect nearly 250 educators and policymakers to attend the event, “Staying Committed to New Teacher Induction,” at the Hilton Springfield, 700 E. Adams St.

The conference brings together teams of induction program coordinators, administrators, teacher mentors, new teachers, policy makers, and higher education personnel to learn from each other, said Chris Higgins, director of INTC, a statewide initiative involving almost every group with an interest in Illinois education. The team-oriented conference offers networking opportunities for teacher mentoring programs from around the state.

“New teacher induction is crucial to successful schools,” Higgins said. “This conference gives those schools and school districts an opportunity to learn from other successful induction and mentoring programs.”

Keynote speakers are: Thomas Smith, a professor of public policy and education at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and nationally recognized expert in both the federal and international education research community; and Bill DuBois, a senior consultant with the Consortium for Educational Change, who was instrumental in developing and implementing an award winning mentoring and induction program during his 33-year career in Elgin School District U-46.

Expected guests include Chris Koch, Illinois State Board of Education superintendent, and District 4 State Senator Kimberly Lightford, chair of the Senate Education Committee.

INTC is supported by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Education, the State Farm Companies Foundation, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

For more information, contact Nancy Johnson, assistant director, INTC, 217-244-3166; nljhnsn@illinois.edu.