COE-TRIP will address chronic teacher turnover in targeted districts by strengthening connections across K-12, career, and postsecondary education to exemplify the profile of a South Carolina (SC) graduate. Further, COE-TRIP will benefit:

• FMU, by providing support to pre-service teachers (PSTs) and newly graduated FMU students.
• The targeted districts, by providing targeted comprehensive support to ECTs, Mentor Teachers, and Administrators in the district and improving teacher retention rates.
• P-20 education in SC, by providing an effective model for teacher induction and retention in high-need rural areas.

We will accomplish this through comprehensive year-round activities and support mechanisms to supplement current district-level mentoring and induction programs, including:

• Professional Development (PD): Ongoing PD plays an important role in teacher induction, retention, job satisfaction, and student achievement.²
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): PLCs are groups of teachers organized by similar setting or assignment that focus on active, collaborative, and reflective learning.³
• Affinity Caucuses (ACs): ACs are groups based on any social identity (e.g., age, cultural background, gender, first-generation college status) and provide structured time for teachers who hold a common identity to share, listen, and learn in a separate forum.⁴