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Mentoring Program for First Year Teachers

RATIONALE:

Regulatory – Effective February 2, 2004, all new teachers in the district holding an initial certificate must complete a mentoring teaching experience within their first year of employment as a teacher, and the district must incorporate the design and planning of such mentoring experience for all first year teachers in its employ into the Professional Development Plan (PDP). The PDP should describe how the district will provide a mentoring program for teachers to meet the teaching experience requirement for the Professional Certificate as prescribed by Commissioner’s Regulations.
Educational – Typically, the most challenging situation a teacher experiences is in his/her first year. Mentoring is a sound practice which, according to research, has a direct positive effect on the retention of good teachers. Mentoring helps new teachers develop the confidence they need to engage in newly learned instructional strategies. Teachers who are not isolated at the beginning of their careers remain more interested in continued professional growth.

Mentoring also allows our more experienced teachers to offer their expertise to others. It is professionally empowering. We believe the mentors will also benefit from this one-to-one partnership. The mentor can grow as a teacher-leader expanding his/her professional role beyond the activities of a classroom, strengthening her or himself, the school and the profession. A sense of collegiality can develop rapidly between mentoring partners. Schools have typically tried to encourage dialog and communication among the professional staff. The mentoring program will ensure frequent, continuous and precise talk about teaching practice.

Key Elements of the Mentoring Program

A) Qualifications and Characteristics of Mentors - Some of the characteristics good mentors should possess:

Commitment of the role of mentoring – Mentors will be selected and assigned based upon their interest and willingness to participate in the training program. Teachers who are not interested in this responsibility will not be expected or assigned to serve as a mentor.
Mentors shall have demonstrated strong instructional skills.
Wherever possible, mentors and new teachers will be matched by content area and grade level.
Mentors must possess the interpersonal skills to work comfortably in the mentor/mentee relationship. Qualities of empathy, honesty, and enthusiasm are all important to this role. Mentors need to demonstrate "acceptance" of the mentoring partner and be able to develop a feeling of trust with the mentee.
Mentors need to have strong time management/organizational skills.
Mentors should have a mastery of the content knowledge and skills that the mentee will need to develop.
Good communication skills. The mentor should be someone who has the ability to listen, to question, to probe, to guide and to encourage.
The mentor must be able to work with the principal to set the example of teamwork and collaboration by establishing a network of personal and professional resources in the district.

B) Procedure for Selecting Mentors – Mentors will be selected by the principals from teachers who are interested and qualified for the mentorship responsibilities. Teachers interested in becoming potential mentors should notify their principal. The building principal will be responsible for the eventual selection and assignment of the mentor based on the qualifications noted above. Where possible, mentors will be assigned to mentees based on similarity of teaching assignments.

C) Role of the Mentor – The role of the mentor is primarily for guidance and support of the mentee. Specific responsibilities are as follows:

Familiarize the mentee with the building, resources, guidelines, and expectations.
Link the mentee to resources.
Guide the mentee in the area of classroom management, design, discipline, scheduling and organization.
Share ideas, teaching strategies, information about the instructional process.
Visit the mentees classroom and offer the mentee opportunities to visit the mentors classroom.
Promote self-reflection and self-analysis by the mentee.
Assist the mentee in setting goals.
Maintain confidentiality and professionalism.
Complete the appropriate documentation for the mentoring activities at the end of each month.

D) Preparation of Mentors –

Mentors will be provided with appropriate materials, procedures and policies related to the building and district organization and operations.
Mentors will participate in Peer Coaching/Mentor training.
Understanding of adult development. Mentors must be familiar with the understanding of the stages a new teacher goes through during growth as a teacher.

The district will participate with the Madison-Oneida BOCES in sponsoring specific mentor training, which will be designed to provide mentors with a repertoire of skills for working non-judgmentally with a colleague; teach them how to build trust with a colleague; make them aware of mentoring pitfalls and inform them of the resources and expectations of the mentoring program.

E) Mentoring Activities – The types of mentoring activities will range from very formal to informal contacts. Through these activities the mentee will become more familiar with the culture of the school, relationships with colleagues, and understanding of the instructional skills critical to the success of a teacher. Some examples of the specific mentoring activities that will occur are as follows:

Socialization activities – dinner, picnic, etc. upon arrival
Tours of the school and community. Mentee will be provided upon arrival with resources of important information, directory, etc.
Support of the teacher web page development.
Classroom observations by the mentor of the mentee and by the mentee of the mentor or other staff members.
Support and information on grading and assessment practices.
Special topic sessions throughout the year which may include:

Report cards
BEDS forms
Budget
Open House/Parent Conferences
Field trips
Student Handbooks
Conference requests
Confidentiality
Library resources
AV protocol
Computer skills

Participation in a CSE meeting and meet with resource room teachers to discuss IEP requirements.
Familiarity with support staff (custodian, transportation, cafeteria, nurse, etc.)

The induction of new teachers needs to be seen as the work and responsibility of the entire school community. The relationship with the school administrators is a key to the success of new teachers. Building principals will participate in mentoring selection, assign new teachers to mentors, support mentoring as integral to the school’s professional development planning, assist with scheduling for program activities, and assist in the design of the mentoring program. Also, mentors may direct assigned mentees to other colleagues’ classrooms to observe instruction or curriculum development projects.

F) Time Allocated for Mentoring - These activities will occur during planning times, the summer, before or after school, evenings, during lunch, through staff development workshops and conference, and planning days.

At the secondary level, mentors will be relieved of supervisory duties. On occasion, substitutes may be obtained to release the mentor or mentee to do classroom observations. Mentors will also be expected to be available during the summer from two to four days for training and/or working with the mentee.

G) Confidentiality – Information obtained by a mentor through interaction with the new teacher while engaged in the mentoring activities of the program shall not be used for evaluating or disciplining the new teacher unless:

Withholding such information poses a danger to the life, health or safety of an individual, including but not limited to students and staff of the school or;

Such information indicates that the new teacher has been convicted of a crime or has committed an act which raises a reasonable question as to the new teachers moral character.

H) Exemptions to the Mentoring Requirements – Pursuant to Commissioners Regulations teachers holding an initial certificate who have two or more prior years of teaching experience do not need to be provided a mentor experience as noted in this mentoring plan. Teachers new to the district who have two or more years of teaching experience will participate in a modified mentoring plan to be determined by the building principal to assist in the transition to HCS policies, procedures and school culture.

I) Record-keeping Requirements – The district will maintain documentation of the implementation of the mentoring program described in the PDP. Such documentation will include for each individual receiving mentoring pursuant to the mentoring program:

Name of the individual and his/her teacher certification identification number.
The type of mentoring activity.
The number of clock hours successfully completed in the mentoring activity.
The name on the teachers certificate, identification number of the individual who provided the mentoring.

J) Stipend – A majority of the mentor-mentee activities will occur during the regular teacher workday. Typically, release time from supervisory duties will allow secondary teachers to complete mentoring responsibilities. However, since some elementary teachers, and possibly certain secondary teachers, may be unable to be released, the option for a stipend may be offered by the district. The amount of the stipend will be determined through negotiations with the bargaining unit. Compensation for time for activities assigned by the district (and approved by the Superintendent) that occur during the summer or outside the school day will be consistent with the teacher's contract.

K) Review – The mentoring plan is an integral part of the PDP and will be reviewed on an annual basis. Regular feedback will be obtained to make improvements in the program each year.

NOTE – This mentoring plan was developed by members of the PDP team and is based on resources from the State Education Department, Madison-Oneida BOCES, and mentoring conferences/workshops which provided models from school districts including West Genesee, Baldwinsville and New Hartford.

Mentoring Program
(Committees/PDP)
Adopted 7/12/04
Revised 10/18/04