The West Virginia Department of Education mandated that each county create an induction program for beginning teachers to begin in the fall of 1991. Although state guidelines suggested certain common elements, each county would set up its own program to meet the needs of teachers in that county. Because a rich source of information for program planning is available from teachers themselves, a needs assessment survey was taken of 38 beginning teachers in 2 southern counties and of 44 student teachers who had completed student teaching assignments in 4 southern counties. Needs were assessed in the areas of instruction, management skills, rules and procedures, interaction skills, and curriculum. Topics of interest to beginning teachers included motivational techniques, instructional strategies, discipline, guidance, and student self-esteem. Student teachers were most concerned with student self-esteem, instructional strategies, individual differences, stress management, discipline, communications, and motivational techniques. Both groups expressed interest in reading a handbook and attending staff development programs. Induction program planners can use these assessments to create more effective programs that meet the identified needs of new teachers. Higher education institutions can use them to assess classroom teaching and to create collaborative projects with the public schools. Appendixes include the beginning teacher survey, the survey topic results, and the survey activity results. (LL)