The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) requires California teachers with a preliminary credential to enroll in an approved two-year Induction program, within their first year of teaching, to earn the recommendation for a clear credential.  To participate in the CTC-approved Capistrano USD Teacher Induction Program, Candidates must have a year-long contract and be teaching in a classroom setting, in order to demonstrate their growth in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. Please contact the Program Coordinator for information.   

 

Successful completion of the Capistrano USD Teacher Induction Program requires two-years of successful completion of the program. Each year includes collaboration with the candidate's mentor on average one-hour each week and submission of two  Individual Learning Plans (ILP) which provide evidence of growth toward mastery of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.

 

 

Professional Learning for Induction Candidates is optional, but encouraged. CUSD Professional Learning hours may count toward salary and column advancement (15 hours=1 unit) if you do not choose reimbursement for attendance, and the class is not during the work day.

 

Please email our office directly for how to enroll in the CUSD Induction program for private school teachers who hold preliminary California credentials.

Our mission is to prepare our students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. Our vision reflects an unwavering commitment to student success.

Induction Programs Mission Statement

CUSD’s Educator Preparation Unit encompasses Teacher Induction and the Clear Administrative Services Credential (CASC) Induction. The unit operates a coherent, job‑embedded system grounded in California-adopted professional standards (CSTP and CPSEL) and a research-based cycle of inquiry. Governance, staffing, timelines, professional learning, and credentialing processes are aligned across programs so candidates experience consistent expectations, high-quality coaching, and evidence-based recommendation decisions.

“A professional learning community is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.”
— DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many

 

Teacher Induction Vision Statement 
The Teacher Induction Program is grounded in a research-based vision of teaching and learning that promotes reflective practice, instructional coherence, and continuous professional growth aligned to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). This vision is embedded across all aspects of the program, ensuring coherence among mentoring, individualized learning plans, formative assessment, and professional learning experiences. The program prepares beginning teachers to effectively serve California’s diverse public school students by supporting the implementation of California’s adopted academic content standards and curricular frameworks through evidence-based instructional practices that foster equity, access, and student success. This vision is operationalized through Cognitive Coaching, which emphasizes that “the purpose of Cognitive Coaching is to produce self-directed persons with the cognitive capacity for high performance” (Costa & Garmston), and Coaching for Excellence supports reflective coaching conversations that strengthen metacognitive skills and instructional decision-making aligned to the CSTP. In addition, the program draws on DuFour’s Professional Learning Community (PLC) model, defined as educators “working collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve,” enabling beginning teachers to analyze student learning, align instruction to curricular frameworks, and engage in continuous improvement that integrates individual growth with collective responsibility for student outcomes.

Teacher Induction Research Base
Research indicates that professional learning is most effective when it is “intensive, ongoing, connected to practice, and focused on the classroom context,” resulting in meaningful changes to educator practice (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017). Consistent with this research, the Teacher Induction program utilizes a job-embedded Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) model aligned to the CSTPs. Candidates engage in structured inquiry cycles that include goal setting, research, observation, evidence collection, and reflection using shared tools and rubrics. This approach ensures induction support is individualized, standards-aligned, and directly connected to Candidates’ daily professional responsibilities.