Tr3 Trends, NCTQ's new monthly newsletter tracking school district policies nationwide, looks at the time districts give teachers for things like planning, collaboration and professional development.  We wanted to see what else school districts are doing to help teachers learn from each other after reading the new Ed Trust paper, which identifies staff collaboration as an important factor in creating good working conditions in schools.

Many of the 113 school districts in our Tr3 database foster peer relationships, but there's plenty of room for improvement.

• In 19 percent of Tr3 districts peer observation is part of evaluations for at least some teachers; there may be peer observation in 24 percent of districts, but it's not required.
  

• While most Tr3 districts have mentor programs for new teachers, more than half either provide no mentoring or offer few details about their programs.
  

Ginger Moored