Melissa Stephanski, chief academic officer of Warren County Public Schools. 

Warren County Public Schools is launching an internship program to pair new teachers with seasoned educators in hopes of improving instruction and student success.

“The more they’re supported … then the better student achievement we’ll see in the long run,” said Melissa Stephanski, the district’s chief academic officer.

The New Teacher Academy Internship program acts as a replacement for the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, which has been suspended until 2020 due to state budget cuts.

The program is the result of a partnership between Western Kentucky University and the district. Mentors receive a stipend from the district and a free course from WKU.

Through seminars and training sessions during the year, teacher interns also assess themselves to see where they can improve. The program can then target interns’ needs by offering training in classroom management, working with English learner students or other skills in which new teachers struggle.

With KTIP suspended until 2020, school districts across the state have been left to create their own new teacher internship programs. The Bowling Green Independent School District recently launched its own program with activities that vary based on the grade level of a teacher’s students.

WCPS is also launching a separate New Teacher Academy Mentorship program for experienced teachers who are new to the school district. Through the program, mentors also receive a stipend from the district.

“We want to bring them in and acclimate them to Warren County schools,” Stephanski said.

Now 24 years into her career at WCPS, Stephanski can remember being a new teacher and the anxiety she felt.

Looking back on that experience, she “can’t imagine being a new teacher and not having a mentor in place,” she said.