Customized Support

Bring this practice inspired by medical rounds to your school and unite your leadership team in observing, analyzing, and improving teaching and learning.

The process of instructional rounds embodies a specific set of ideas about how practitioners can work together to improve their practice. In the education context, this practice is designed to help schools, districts, and state systems support high-quality teaching and learning for all students. Instructional rounds introduce teachers and educational leaders to the key principles and practices of an effective, learner-centered approach to observing, analyzing, and improving teaching and learning.

Through a work agreement with the Arizona K12 Center, you can bring an Instructional Rounds series of workshops to your school, district, or program.

You’ll learn how instructional rounds strategically connect school, district, and state efforts with improvements at the instructional core, building collaborative networks of educators who learn from one another about improving teaching and learning. You will visit multiple classrooms where you can apply effective protocols and build your skills around the practice of instructional rounds. As a participant, you also will consider how to integrate these elements into your own improvement process.

Email us with your interest in bringing Instructional Rounds to your site at info@azk12.org.

Want to build out STEM programming in your school?

Northern Arizona University’s Center for STEM Teaching and Learning (CSTL) can partner with your school in a variety of ways to support your STEM programming.

Partner with CSTL to provide meaningful STEM professional learning. The following are some options of professional learning CSTL can provide: 

• STEM analysis and systemic professional learning plan
• STEM content growth of teachers
• STEM teacher leadership
• Relevant, inclusive STEM programming
• Arizona and Next Generation Science Standards
• STEM-specific professional learning, such as
  • Engineering is Elementary
  • Making Sense of Science
  • Robotics
  • Model Based Inquiry
  • Geospatial Inquiry
  • Data-rich, place-based learning
• Out-of-school time STEM learning opportunities
• Customized professional learning and/or long-term programs focused on what you need

Hear about one school’s experience working with the NAU Center for STEM Teaching and Learning.

To bring this professional development to your district, contact cstl@nau.edu.

Is there interest at your site in learning about the National Board Certification process?

Created by teachers and for teachers, National Board Certification provides the opportunity to deeply reflect on your practice. It is tailored to your teaching, your content, and your specific students.

The Arizona K12 Center can provide a one-hour promotional meeting at your school to share about the power of National Board Certification and the details of the process. We can also share with administrators or school board members about the importance and impact of this work.

If you're interested in the Arizona K12 Center visiting your school or district to share about the power of National Board Certification, email us with your interest at info@azk12.org.

National Board Certified Teachers in your district can also use our National Board Promotion Kit, including flyers and giveaways, to set up a table at a school or district event or to host their own promotional meeting.

Students taught by NBCTs gained the equivalent of approximately one to two months of additional instruction.

Students of NBCTs show evidence of deeper learning nearly three times more frequently than their peers.

Starting a Program

Supporting beginning teachers with a research-backed approach is instrumental in addressing teacher quality and retention, and, in turn, student learning, in Arizona. As the population most likely to leave the profession, teachers in their first three years of teaching require effective induction and mentoring support in your district.

The Arizona K12 Center’s Arizona New Teacher Support Program uses the evidence-based New Teacher Center induction and mentoring model. This approach provides a highly trained and supported instructional mentor to novice teachers (those in years 1-3) and creates systems of support and learning for beginning teachers and their students. We also align this work with Arizona’s Beginning Teacher Induction Program Standards and Arizona’s Professional Teaching Standards.

Learn more about how to participate in the full Arizona New Teacher Support Program, including funding for a full-release mentor and professional learning, at this link.

All Arizona schools and districts are welcome to participate in most individual components of the Arizona New Teacher Support Program, including:

• Mentor Institute, a training held early in the school year for new mentors
• Advanced Mentor Institute, a training that builds on the knowledge, skills, and understanding learned in Mentor Institute
• Mentor Forums, a community of practice for mentors to together strategize solutions-facing actions
• Arizona New Teacher Induction Network, a series for program teams to enhance their new teacher support
• Beginning Teacher Series, targeted professional learning for new teachers

Register for these upcoming events here.

All learning experiences are based on the New Teacher Center tools, curriculum, and research-based understanding of the impact of effective mentoring on beginning teachers and student outcomes.

“The research shows that the positive impact of induction depends heavily on the quality of that support, the length of time they receive it, and the broader system of support provided. In sum, the data suggest that to increase teacher retention and quality, as well as positive outcomes for students, Arizona districts should review whether their induction programs include a full package of effective support.” – Dr. Richard Ingersoll, Professor of Education and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

Continuous Improvement

Looking to enhance your established new teacher induction program?

The Arizona K12 Center can work directly with your district to align your induction and mentoring support to Arizona’s Beginning Teacher Induction Program Standards. Using the associated Induction Toolkit, we can assist districts in self-assessing current programming, understanding and implementing best practices related to the standards, and developing intentional instructional mentoring work.

Like our complete Arizona New Teacher Support Program, we base our guidance on the research-based, data-driven New Teacher Center induction and mentoring model aligned this work with Arizona’s Beginning Teacher Induction Program Standards and Arizona’s Professional Teaching Standards.

If you are interested in partnering with the Arizona K12 Center in your induction and mentoring work, email us with your interest at info@azk12.org.