Approve Agreements for Technical Services for Alternative Certification Program (ACP) Coaches for Mentoring/Coaching of ACP Teachers During the 2008-2009 School Year (Information and Technology Division)

In 1998, the Florida Department of Education approved the implementation of Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Alternative Certification Program to allow teachers who did not major in education to complete their certification requirements. One of the benefits of the program is the assistance of an ACP Coach who provides coaching, feedback, and additional support to participants. New teachers join ACP throughout the school year. Some ACP teachers do not need to be mentored for the entire school year; therefore, mentors may be reassigned to work with other ACP participants.

ACP Coaches are paid $68 per coaching/mentoring session for up to eight visits per participant. These sessions include observations, feedback, travel to sites, email, and phone conversations. Coaches work with 15-35 participants depending upon their availability and the number of new participants joining the program.

Agreements for Technical Services have been prepared for the attached list of ACP Coaches. These mentors complete a face-to-face training session covering the program guidelines and the best practices of mentoring. This allows them to effectively coach ACP participants and ultimately, increase student achievement. In order to continuously assign mentors as new teachers join ACP, permission is requested to add and delete ACP mentors as needed, not to exceed the budgeted amount of $200,000.00.

Human Resources – Recruit, develop, and retain a highly effective and diverse workforce.

Funds for paying coach contracts are contained in Staff Development 4029. These funds are derived from fees paid by participants when they join ACP.

ACP participants and school administrators are surveyed annually to assess the success of the mentoring process. ACP coaches are surveyed, as well, to gain feedback based upon their opinion of the mentoring process. The ACP office also tracks the retention rate of teachers who complete the ACP program to determine the success of its components. In addition, the ACP office is working with the Assessment and Accountability office to develop a method to determine the impact of ACP teachers on student achievement.