District Facilitator Annual Timeline

Overview

The timeline presented here lists all the major TEAM milestones during the year. For each milestone we provide the details, suggestions and best practices that have proven to assist in the timely submission of reflection papers, building reviewer and mentoring capacity and processing of TEAM allocations.

Please click on the months below for a list of action items that should be completed during that month.

August September October November
December January February March
April May June July/End of year
August
Task Details Best Practices
Set calendar for the year Set dates and times and reserve space in facilities for meetings or set up virtual meetings: It is good practice to meet with beginning teachers periodically to provide added support and give them an opportunity to share successes and challenges. The Phases of the First Year graphic can guide you as to when teachers might need added support or just an opportunity to share their feelings. Schedule regular mentor meetings to provide mentors an opportunity to collaborate with and support one another. You may want to include dates for module submissions to ensure that BTs are on track and aware of the due dates.
TEAM Orientation: Districts supplement the TEAM Orientation with district specific orientation. Part 2 of the TEAM Orientation is best presented in October when teachers should begin working on TEAM
Module 5 Resources: Many districts include veteran staff. It is good practice to have an audience of educators with varying years of experience. This can lead to richer discussions. It is good practice to invite mentors to engage in the facilitated conversations with their mentees. Mentors should be included as part of their role/responsibility. They can add the time to their meeting logs. Encourage BTs to respond during the session. They should not allow only experienced staff to respond. Their understanding and ideas should make up the bulk of the discussion.
Beginning Teacher List Accuracy
HR enters staff in the Educator Data System (EDS) beginning in August through October
  • Check on movement of BTs and Mentors between schools
  • Check TEAM dashboard for beginning teachers.
    • Teachers new to the district will not be on your BT list until they have been entered in EDS.
  • Beginning teachers must create an account before they can be matched on the dashboard
  • Double check certification & eligibility for TEAM
    • Category 1 – 5 Modules – (expected completion 2 years)
    • Category 2 – 2 Modules – (expected completion 1 year)
    • Participation Requirements & Timelines - section 1 - TEAM Program Manual
 Ask for a list of new hires before the school year begins When possible arrange for new teachers and mentors to meet before schools begins. This gives them some time to begin establishing relationships. You do not need to have made the match in the dashboard. You do not need to have made the match in the dashboard.
Mentor List and Administrator List
Match Beginning Teacher with Mentor and Administrator within 30 days of hire
  • Check the mentor list for:
    • Newly hired veteran teachers who are TEAM trained mentors
    • Mentors selected by TCC in spring who were trained over summer/li>
  • Verify that new mentors are added to mentor lists on your dashboard:
    • Missing mentors may not have logged in to the TEAM dashboard so their role may have not been recognized yet
  • Contact building principals to make mentor assignments:
    • Send list of beginning teachers assigned to their building
    • Send a current list of mentors in their building
    • Ask them to make appropriate matches
  • Make mentor matches on the TEAM dashboard:
    • Beginning teachers must create an account before they can be matched on the TEAM dashboard.
  • Match teachers with their principal/supervisor
 Mentors may only be assigned 2 beginning teachers. Be sure you have a sufficient number of mentors to meet the need. If you need to assign more than two, contact Claudine Primack at claudine.primack@ct.gov. Check the mentor list on the TEAM dashboard. Check training expiration dates. Notify mentors who need to complete Mentor Update- Professional Learning Units (PLUs). If new teachers are not yet appearing on your dashboard, the mentor assignment can be made on paper, then entered on the dashboard later. You want to encourage the mentor to meet with the beginning teacher as soon as possible to begin building the mentor/BT relationship. The DF will make the matches on the dashboard. All TEAM users ( mentors, administrators, beginning teachers) must sign in to their account at the beginning of the school year to activate it.
September
Task Details Best Practices
Prepare and issue registration letters for beginning teachers TEAM Registration Letters - (template provided by the SDE) with Mentor/Beginning Teacher Assignment to teachers participating in TEAM Connect the mentor and BT as soon as possible so they can establish a relationship
Check Deadline Dates Teachers who have a February 15th deadline date will need to complete TEAM by then. Let the teachers know that you are willing to support them in meeting their deadline. Remind them of the consequences for not meeting their deadline date. If there have been extenuating circumstances that can be documented, the teacher may be eligible for an extension. Only the DF can submit a request for an extension. Keep in mind that short maternity or sick leaves do not count as extenuating circumstances. Putting TEAM off for any reason can result in running out of time. This is not considered an extenuating circumstance. It is critical that the DF monitor progress to avoid this kind of a situation. If you have a teacher that refuses to do TEAM, be sure to document efforts to support the teacher. The TEAM deadline is NOT the same as the expiration of a certification. Teachers are responsible for knowing when their certification expires and doing what is necessary to maintain an active certificate.
Attend Fall DF Meeting Register for Fall DF meeting DF meetings provide critical updates and information - the Fall meeting covers newly available resources and program updates.
Collect Two Year Mentoring Plans New beginning teachers complete their two year mentoring plan with their mentor and submit a copy to the DF. Returning beginning teachers review and revise their two year plan with their mentors, and submit a copy to the DF. The two-year plan helps teachers manage their time and keeps them on track to complete TEAM within their expected timeframe. It is good practice to have the beginning teachers and mentors check the plan at the mid-year point to see if they are on track.
Starting the Module Process The first month of school should be dedicated to induction activities, not the TEAM modules. Providing the beginning teachers with support that will set them up for a successful year is the first priority: you and their mentors can help acclimate them to the school, staff, district, and community; help them set up their classrooms, review curriculum, and school procedures; building a trusting and supportive relationship- will make the beginning teacher feel welcome and supported.
October
Task Details Best Practices
Reviewer capacity Verify that the number of reviewers is proportionate to the expected number of modules submitted by BTs For districts participating in the Regional Review - You must contribute the number of reviews equal to the number of reflection papers that will be submitted to the regional review. We recommend that you have 1 reviewer per 5 modules. Since each BT generally submits 2 modules a year, the number of reviewers need would be (2 modules)*(# BTs)/5.
Verify all users have activated their TEAM account Check the dashboard to see if BTs, mentors and administrators have activated their accounts. You will not be able to match teachers with mentors or administrators if they do not have an active account. Send out reminders to returning BTs, mentors and administrators reminding them to log in to their TEAM accounts.
Begin the Module Process October is a good time for beginning teachers and their mentors to begin the TEAM module process - usually around October 15th. The orientation powerpoint that was provided by the state has two parts. Part two is specifically about the module process. This would be a good time to bring beginning teachers and their mentors together and share part two of the orientation. Following the presentation, you might have mentors and beginning teachers review the Module Guidelines and access Module 1 on their dashboards.

NEW for the 2021-22 school year: All modules will begin with a brief survey asking the beginning teacher about the extent to which they feel their teacher preparation program prepared them for the specific competencies of the module.

Check DF dashboard at least weekly

Check BT list for newly added teachers

Ensure BTs create account

Continue matching BT with mentors and administrators

Read any District Facilitator Messages

Follow up with HR regarding BTs not showing up on TEAM list

Check in with BTs and mentors
November
Task Details Best Practices
Late hire - 2/15 entry date starts Educators hired or added to EDS after 10/31 are added to the TEAM dashboard with a 2/15 entry date

Make sure that late hire BTs receive registration letters, and are matched to mentors and administrators.

They will also need an orientation to TEAM. Ask them to complete their two-year plan with their mentor and submit a copy to you.
Monitoring

Monitor progress meter for each BT

Check to be sure administrators sign off on PGAPs in a timely manner

Monitor meeting logs and meeting times. Meeting logs for BTs that started in September should show a minimum of 5 meeting hours

Weekly check-ins with mentors and BTs that recorded less than 5 hours to make sure that they know that logs are being monitored.

Regular monitoring will help you catch problems early and give you an opportunity to address them before they become big problems. It is better to be proactive.

Meeting logs can be an indicator of how a mentoring relationship is going. If there are few meetings being logged, it would be good practice to check in with the BT and mentor.

TEAM Coordinating Committee Review current TEAM partnerships
Evaluate current district support plan
Discuss any improvements
Look at calendar and numbers of modules
Review number of BTs and mentors needed
Discuss reviewer numbers
Overview of year in TEAM
Establish calendar of meetings for the year
  
December
Task Details Best Practices
First Module Submission Check in with the beginning teachers to verify that they are on track to submit the first module. Generally teachers submit their first module by January 30th.

Teachers should be finishing their first module of the year and getting ready to submit it. Check in with them to see if they are on track or need additional encouragement or support.

Many districts set dates for module submission. This keeps teachers on track to complete TEAM by their expected completion dates.

By checking in with teachers and reminding them that the first module should generally be submitted by last week in January, it will help them stay on track. Teachers whose initial certificate expires before their TEAM deadline date will need to renew their initial certificate. However, if a teacher does not complete TEAM by their deadline date, they will not be eligible to renew their initial certification or advance to the provisional certificate.
Mentor/BT Support Remind mentors that their beginning teachers are probably feeling overwhelmed at this time of year It is good practice to check in with mentors and beginning teachers who may be feeling overwhelmed and a sense of disillusionment. Find ways to celebrate their successes. Knowing that they are not alone in how they are feeling can make a big difference.
January
Task Details Best Practices
Confirm BT List for Allocation Download the list of BTs eligible for an allocation and notify the Talent Office of any discrepancies The list is published mid-January and changes must be emailed before the list closes on February 14th. Some changes may require additional documentation or research so make sure that all corrections are sent as soon as possible.
Monitoring Meeting logs for BTs that started in September should show at least 10 meeting hours Submission of the first module should be done no later than the first week of January
February
Task Details Best Practices
Second Entry Date Verify that the BTs hired after the October 31st cutoff date have created user accounts and have been matched with mentors

Late hires may have an extensive gap between their hire date and their TEAM start date. This can be used to have the teaches participate in module 5.

During this time, provide them with a mentor, arrange for an orientation to TEAM, have them complete their two-year plan and, if the district has not yet held module 5, invite them to participate.

Many BTs get anxious and want to begin TEAM right away. If your district is agreeable, you may allow them to begin.
Module Results Papers that are submitted via the regional review, are generally reviewed and returned within two weeks. Teachers should watch their dashboard for results. Papers that were not successful may take longer to be reviewed. Provide additional support to BTs’ whose paper or project was unsuccessful.
Begin Next Module While teachers are waiting for their results, they should begin working on the next module.

To ensure that teachers stay on track, they should begin working on the next module after they have submitted the first module.

If you are conducting support sessions around specific modules, this would be a prime opportunity to introduce the module and have BTs and their mentors come together to begin the first steps of the process.

If your teachers are beginning Module 2 (Planning), you may want to spend some time reviewing sample Module 2 papers/projects and discussing the difference between planning and instruction. Caution them that they should not teach the lesson(s) before they write their reflection paper or complete their project.
Check TEAM Completions

Check the dashboard - TEAM Complete - to see if there are teachers who have completed TEAM with a Pending status.

Contact the person who holds the EDS LEA TEAM role and ask them to enter the completion date for those who have completed TEAM.

Teachers with a Pending status have not been entered in EDS.

Be sure the date TEAM was completed is what is entered in EDS.
Check Deadline Dates Check for teachers with a 9/1 deadline date.

Check in with these teachers to see if they are on track to meet their deadline date.

Remind them of the consequences.

Determine if there are extenuating circumstances that can be documented. If so, request an extension.
Mentor Needs

Ask principals to ascertain mentors in content areas or grade levels that may be needed for the next school year or teachers they have noted that would be excellent mentors or cooperating teachers.

Include in the message, the qualifications and requirements for mentors in the district. Request that they speak to appropriate candidates about applying to become a TEAM mentor or cooperating teacher.

 Those who are selected should be sent information on the training and how to register. Request that they send you confirmation of their registration. Some candidates are selected by the district but never find time to train.
March
Task Details Best Practices
Attend Spring DF Meeting Register for Spring DF meeting DF meetings provide critical updates and information - the spring meetings cover plans for the following school year.
Monitor Meeting Logs and Progress Monitoring meeting logs and the progress bars will give you a sense of how things are going. If there is a lack of progress or little to no meetings logged, you want to check in with both the BT and the mentor. Be proactive. Don’t let too much time go by if there is a problem.
Monitor TEAM Completions It is important that TEAM completions are entered as soon as possible. The certification office will not be able to process applications for provisional certificates until the TEAM completion date is entered in EDS.
Monitor Reviewers Check to be sure reviewers are reviewing papers. March is a critical time of the year. The review queue fills up. We need reviewers to keep reviewing throughout the year.
April
Task Details Best Practices
Monitor BT progress Be in touch with beginning teachers whose progress meters represent a difficulty and offer support where needed

BTs should get their papers/projects submitted by the end of April, beginning of May. Those participating in the regional review should submit their papers as early as possible if they want to get results before the end of the school year.
Monitor Mentor Logs Remind mentors to complete meeting logs. Stipends are based on the hours of mentoring.
Monitor TEAM Completions Be sure completions are entered into EDS.
Submit second module There is no guarantee that papers submitted after May 15 will be reviewed over the summer. Reviewers are educators who do not work over the summer. If a teacher has a 9/1 deadline date, papers submitted after May 15th cannot be revised and resubmitted if unsuccessful. Encourage these teachers to get their papers in before May 15.
May
Task Details Best Practices
Monitor BT progress Remind teachers to get their module completed and submitted by May 15 if they want to get results before school ends.
Monitor Mentor Logs

Monitor TEAM Completions Be sure completions are entered into EDS.
June
Task Details Best Practices
Monitor BT progress Be in touch with beginning teachers whose progress meters represent a difficulty and offer support where needed

BTs should get their papers/projects submitted by the end of April, beginning of May. Those participating in the regional review should submit their papers as early as possible if they want to get results before the end of the school year.
Monitor Mentor Logs

Monitor TEAM Completions Be sure all TEAM completions have been entered in EDS before the school year ends.
Celebrate successes Find a way to celebrate teachers who have completed all TEAM requirements successfully and to thank mentors for their support throughout the year.
July/End of year
Task Details Best Practices
Plan for next year

Check on mentor status.

Meet with TCC.

 Remind mentors to complete update.