Governor's Master Teacher Program
The Governor's Master Teacher Program places experienced, accomplished teachers into leadership roles in schools as mentors for their peers. Teachers with at least five years of experience, strong evaluations, and demonstrated student achievement and growth can apply through the Arizona K-12 Center to become Master Teachers. Master Teachers will be trained to become mentors to beginning teachers with 0-2 years teaching experience to help guide them toward greater effectiveness while retaining them not only in the profession but in the school they teach. With the approval of their school and district, Master Teachers will commit to at least half-time mentoring duties for three years.
The initiative has two basic components:
- Mentoring and induction for 0-2 year teachers with full time release mentors with a ratio of 15 new teachers to 1 mentor. Some exceptions may be made for part time mentors or increased caseloads above 15. School districts must provide a rationale for this exception.
- Training and development of teacher leaders that includes all identified Master Teachers, Master Teacher Mentors as well as existing National Board Certified Teachers. In addition a limited number of scholarships are available for National Board Certification.
Arizona's goal is to place a Master Teacher in every school in the state, beginning with those schools most in need. This program began in the AzTEP Schools (a grant designed to recruit and retain teachers in Native American communities) and Arizona's first and second year state-funded all-day kindergarten schools. Districts may apply if they have at least one qualified site or hire at least 15 new teachers per year (0-2 years teaching experience) among one or more qualified sites. Sites must meet at least two of these requirements:
- 60% or higher poverty
- 25% or higher new teacher turnover (0-2 years)
- 30% or higher teacher turnover
- Any Middle School or High School
- Labeled Underperforming
Districts may combine sites for mentoring, but must adhere to the ratio of 1:15 with a full time mentor and all sites included must meet at least two of the above criteria.
In order to apply for designation as a Master Teacher a teacher must:
- Have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience
- Be fully certified in the subject or grade level you are teaching and show evidence of meeting the Highly Qualified Criteria
- Have positive teaching evaluations, with no formal plans of improvement related to their job performance anytime in the three years prior to application.
Master Teacher Mentors will be chosen from the pool of Master Teachers, pending agreements made by individual districts.
If selected as a Master Teacher Mentor, a teacher agrees to
- Serve for three years as a Master Teacher Mentor and provide defined mentoring for new teachers in building/district
- Participation in state-sponsored professional development for mentors and established cohorts for the three-year period
- Complete all required components of the program each year and participate in program evaluation
Through the Governor's Master Teacher Program, there are a limited number of scholarships available for teachers to pursue National Board Certification. Teachers have three ways to qualify for this funding. They are as follows:
- Teach in a Title I school
- Teach middle or high school mathematics, science, technology, or special ed
- Teach at a school that meets two of the following criteria:
- Poverty level of 50% or higher (free and reduced lunch)
- 20% of the faculty has two or less full years of teaching experience at your school
- 15% or higher teacher turnover over the last three years at your school
- any middle or high school
- Underperforming
Teachers who are interested in pursuing this scholarship opportunity must complete a National Board Pre-candidacy class prior to the scholarship being awarded. These classes are typically offered free of charge in school districts throughout the state as well as ASSET and the Arizona K-12 Center. Upon completion of a Pre-candidacy class a teacher is eligible for the scholarship. All scholarships are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For more information about the Arizona's Master Teacher Program, please contact us.
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