Mentoring Early Career Teachers in Urban Alaska - Impact Findings from the Investing in Innovation (i3) Evaluation of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Urban Growth Opportunity

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

This report presents an in-depth evaluation of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project’s Urban Growth Opportunity model, funded through a federal Investing in Innovation (i3) validation grant. The study uses a randomized controlled trial to assess implementation and impact for early career teachers in five urban Alaska districts, examining effects on teacher retention, instructional practice, and student academic performance. Education Northwest independently conducted random assignment, data collection, impact analyses, and reporting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages140

Reading Time5 h 53 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Study Purpose and Design

Education Northwest Evaluation Approach

Alaska Statewide Mentor Project and Urban Growth Opportunity Models

Study Participants

Mentoring Early Career Teachers in Urban Alaska Impact Findings from the Investing in Innovation (i3) Evaluation of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Urban Growth Opportunity Phyllis Campbell Ault Angela Roccograndi Art Burke July 2017 Mentoring Early Career Teachers in Urban Alaska Impact Findings from the Investing in Innovation (i3) Evaluation othe Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Urban Growth Opportunity Phyllis Campbell Ault Angela Roccograndi Art Burke July 2017 This report presents an in-depth discussion of findings from Education Northwest’s research on the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project’s Urban Growth Opportunity model, which was funded by a federal Investing in Innovation ( i3 ) validation grant (U411B110072) . The model provided fully released, highly skilled teachers to serve as mentors to early career teachers for their first two years in the profession. Using a randomized controlled trial design, researchers at Education Northwest examined the impact and implementation of the Urban Growth Opportunity as it supported early career teachers in five urban Alaska school districts. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of early career teachers’ participation in the program on three outcomes: their retention as a teacher in Alaska, their instructional practice, and the academic performance of their students. Founded as a nonprofit corporation in 1966, Education Northwest builds capacity in schools, families, and communities through applied research and development. Education Northwest upholds professional standards in conducting and reporting research. Findings reported to the National Evaluation ofi3 were not subject to the approval of Alaska Statewide Mentor Project, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (the grantee), the state, or other collaborating agencies. Education Northwest independently conducted all key aspects of the evaluation, including random assignment, collection of student assessment data, the impact analyses, implementation and intervention studies, and the reporting of study findings. Neither the grantee nor the intervention developer analyzed outcomes data for any confirmatory contrast. Neither the grantee nor the intervention developer reported findings (i.e., impact estimates and standard errors) to the National Evaluation of i3 for any confirmatory contrast. On the cover: View of Lake Lucille, Alaska from a mentor training site at Best Western Lake Lucille Inn. Photo by Phyllis Campbell Ault Contact Education Northwest 101 SW Main Street, Suite 500 Portland, OR 97204 [educationnorthwest.org](educationnorthwest.org)[ ](educationnorthwest.org)503.275.9500 Authors Phyllis Campbell Ault, Ed.D. Angela Roccograndi, MSWArt Burke, Ph.D. Suggested Citation Ault, P. C., Roccograndi, A., & Burke, A. (2017). Mentoring early career teachers in urban Alaska: Impact findings from the Investing in Innovation (i3) evaluation of the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project Urban Growth Opportunity. Portland, OR: Education Northwest. Since 2004 the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) has operated the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project (ASMP) as a professional development initiative primarily for rural early career teachers (ECTs) in the state’s high-needs districts. The initiative provides ECTs with two years of support from fully released, highly trained mentors. In 2011 the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) received an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to conduct a validation study of ASMP’s Urban Growth Opportunity (UGO) program, which adapts the ASMP model for ECTs in urban areas. The i3 study was designed to validate the effectiveness of the ASMP model as implemented in five urban areas of Alaska. This final report of the overall validation study looks at three interrelated aspects of UGO: implementation, intervention, and impact. The ASMP and UGO Mentoring Models The ASMP mentoring model

FAQs

What is the Urban Growth Opportunity (UGO) model being evaluated?

UGO adapts the ASMP mentoring approach to support early career teachers in urban areas of Alaska, using fully released mentors and structured mentoring expectations and feedback.

How does the study measure impact on early career teachers?

Researchers used a randomized controlled trial to examine outcomes related to teacher retention in Alaska, changes in instructional practice, and students’ academic performance.

Which organizations conducted and reported the evaluation findings?

Education Northwest conducted key evaluation activities independently, including random assignment, assessment data collection, impact analyses, implementation studies, and reporting to the National Evaluation of i3.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob