Message From the Director
Message from the Executive Director - Randi Stanulis
A Message from the Director of Launch into Teaching
Dr. Randi Nevins Stanulis, Michigan State University
Michigan State University faculty are committed to supporting beginning teachers as they develop into high quality practitioners who have a strong impact on student achievement. No longer do we believe that teacher preparation ends when students graduate from our certification program. Indeed, beginning teachers are merely at the beginning of learning to teach. These talented novices need our direct support in order to feel that they have the space, the voice, and the experiences needed to continue learning to teach.
We know that far too many beginning teachers are leaving the profession because they receive inadequate support, are overwhelmed with management and subject matter concerns and feel they have little voice in how decisions are made. These high achievers are exactly the kind of teachers we need to keep in our profession, primarily in high poverty schools. The Launch into Teaching Comprehensive Induction Program at Michigan State University is designed specifically to support beginning teachers, veteran teachers as mentors, principals, pupils and districts in high poverty areas.
Teachers at the beginning of their careers are not the only ones who need support. Teachers in all phases of their career need time and support to continue developing as effective teachers who have a specific vision of effective teaching that they are working towards. Teachers are so often isolated, with increasing demands and pressures to succeed. The Launch Into Teaching Instructional Coach Program supports coaches as they work with veteran teachers to improve teaching effectiveness and increase student achievement.
With our focus on improving the quality of teaching, creating systems of support, increasing job satisfaction and teacher quality, and retaining excellent teachers, we are poised to make a difference in the induction landscape. We cannot maintain a culture where a teacher is likely to have left the profession before she is ready to make a major impact on student achievement, or where any teacher is left alone to learn to teach across the career. Strong instructional improvement programs like ours aim to keep teachers in the profession and help them develop as high quality educators early in their career. Guided by a specific vision of teaching that we are mentoring towards, MSU is prepared to help beginning teachers LAUNCH into effective practice with comprehensive support.
