Mentoring &Induction
Goals
The SAU 23 New Teacher Mentoring Program seeks to achieve the following goals:
Retain quality teachers,
Improve beginning teachers’ skills and performance,
Maintain experienced teachers’ skills, performance, motivation, and engagement,
Support teacher morale, communications, and collaboration,
Build a sense of professionalism and positive attitude,
Prevent teacher isolation and build capacity for reflective practice.
In order to achieve these goals, we have defined specific roles in regard to the support of new teachers throughout SAU 23. Please read the new teacher mentoring document below for more information.
Role & Responsibilities
Teacher Mentor
($500 yearly stipend)Support new teacher in a confidential, non-evaluative relationship.
Serve as a liaison with other teachers to allow new teachers to use resources and to observe different instructional practices.
Reduce isolation of the new teacher by making him/her feel valued as a member of the school community formally and informally.
Promote new teacher’s awareness of school district policies and practices.
Encourage new teacher to voice opinions and/or concerns.
Informal classroom visits/ feedback.
Be available during prep and/or after school to work with the new teacher.
School Administrator
Help facilitate coverage for non-evaluative classroom observation if needed.
Match new teachers and mentors.
Introduce mentors and new teachers when selection has been completed.
Maintain confidentiality.
Respect the new teacher/mentor relationship and address conversations about new teacher with new teachers, not mentor.
Inform new teachers of the evaluation process.
Be involved in the ongoing evaluation of the mentor program.
Participate in mentoring trainings and meetings, and new teacher orientation for consistent messaging and promotion of the mentoring program.
New Teacher
Be willing to reflect on craft.
Participate in a 1 to 3 day orientation program in August, as determined by the school administration.
Observe confidentiality.
Participate in Non Evaluative classroom observations and coaching sessions with mentor.
Observe mentor at least once throughout the year.
Share in the responsibility of developing meeting agenda with mentor.
Develop own teaching understandings and methods based on reflective practice.
Mentor Requirements
In order to assume the role of mentor, a teacher must:
Hold a valid New Hampshire experienced educator teaching certificate.
Have a minimum of five years successful teaching experience.
Have knowledge of district policies and resources.
Possess leadership qualities that include organizational skills, self-confidence, enthusiasm for teaching, and the ability to see many different ways to accomplish a purpose or goal.
Have a mastery of pedagogical skills and curricula content knowledge.
Demonstrate past collaborative successes.
Possess effective communication skills, both oral and written, to promote active listening and reflective conversations.
Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills while modeling a positive attitude and professional growth.
Have the ability to be flexible in various mentoring roles to support a caring and helpful relationship.
Dissolution of Mentor/Mentee relationship
If a mentor/ mentee needs to be relieved of the relationship, they must follow this process:
Mentor and/or mentee requests a meeting with their Department Administrator.
Both members of the mentoring relationship will be contacted for discussion of the situation. If it is appropriate, both the mentor and mentee will meet with the appeals team, at the discretion of the Department Administrator.
A decision will be reached for either resolving the problem or disbanding the relationship.
If decision is to disband the relationship, the following steps will occur:
Efforts will be made to re-assign a new mentor to the relationship.
The Mentoring Stipend Agreement will be prorated to reflect the termination of the relationship.
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