N.C.S.D. Mentor Program Overview
Mentor Support Components
Participating novice faculty have weekly on-site contact during and after school hours (averaging three hours per month) with a mentor during their first year. Experienced faculty will see a mentor every other week during the first semester and then once a month for the remainder of their first year. (A person is considered novice if their experience is three or less years. A person is considered experienced if their experience if four or more years.)
Novice faculty in their second year will have contact with their mentor every other week. Experienced faculty will be visited every other week the first semester and once a month for the second semester.
New Faculty, novice and experienced, in their third year will have contact with their mentor/instructional facilitator as needed.
Mentors observe and coach new faculty during their first two years in the classroom, offer emotional support, assist with short and long-term planning, design classroom management strategies, provide curriculum resources, facilitate communication with the site administrator and parents, and provide assistance in regards to requirements for earning continuing contract status. New faculty in their third year are checked on once a quarter and can receive more mentoring on an individual need basis by their building instructional facilitator.
Two days of release time can be arranged by the mentors to provide time for teachers in their first two years with the District to observe master veteran teachers. New faculty may use one day in year one and one day in year two with the District.
Mentors maintain confidentiality and do not share information contributing to evaluation with administrators or department chairs.
Mentors help new faculty to grow professionally by supporting them to construct knowledge in their own environments on a day-to-day basis. The patterns of establishing professional habits and dispositions for collaboration, goal setting and reflection, data-driven instruction, and ongoing learning are meant to influence practice and encourage ambitious teaching from the very start.
Participating novice faculty have weekly on-site contact during and after school hours (averaging three hours per month) with a mentor during their first year. Experienced faculty will see a mentor every other week during the first semester and then once a month for the remainder of their first year. (A person is considered novice if their experience is three or less years. A person is considered experienced if their experience if four or more years.)
Novice faculty in their second year will have contact with their mentor every other week. Experienced faculty will be visited every other week the first semester and once a month for the second semester.
New Faculty, novice and experienced, in their third year will have contact with their mentor/instructional facilitator as needed.
Mentors observe and coach new faculty during their first two years in the classroom, offer emotional support, assist with short and long-term planning, design classroom management strategies, provide curriculum resources, facilitate communication with the site administrator and parents, and provide assistance in regards to requirements for earning continuing contract status. New faculty in their third year are checked on once a quarter and can receive more mentoring on an individual need basis by their building instructional facilitator.
Two days of release time can be arranged by the mentors to provide time for teachers in their first two years with the District to observe master veteran teachers. New faculty may use one day in year one and one day in year two with the District.
Mentors maintain confidentiality and do not share information contributing to evaluation with administrators or department chairs.
Mentors help new faculty to grow professionally by supporting them to construct knowledge in their own environments on a day-to-day basis. The patterns of establishing professional habits and dispositions for collaboration, goal setting and reflection, data-driven instruction, and ongoing learning are meant to influence practice and encourage ambitious teaching from the very start.
Mentor Program Standards
Collaborative Leadership - Establishes and maintains leadership through collaborative relationships with students, parents, and colleagues.
Facilitating Learning - Facilitates learning through a partnership with students to ensure continuous improvement in the school setting.
Reflective Practice on the Learning Practice - Focuses on student needs, best practice, and available resources to improve student learning aligned to state/district standards.
Culture and Environment - Supports a collaborative school culture and environment.
Student Data and Analysis - Uses assessment data to improve individual student and class performance.
Professional Responsibility - Demonstrates professional ethics.
Collaborative Leadership - Establishes and maintains leadership through collaborative relationships with students, parents, and colleagues.
Facilitating Learning - Facilitates learning through a partnership with students to ensure continuous improvement in the school setting.
Reflective Practice on the Learning Practice - Focuses on student needs, best practice, and available resources to improve student learning aligned to state/district standards.
Culture and Environment - Supports a collaborative school culture and environment.
Student Data and Analysis - Uses assessment data to improve individual student and class performance.
Professional Responsibility - Demonstrates professional ethics.
Fact Sheet
Teachers choose to stay in the profession if several key factors/working conditions are present:
Leadership (e.g. support from principal)
Empowerment to make instructional decisions
On-going and contextualized professional development.
Hirsch (2006)
Initial findings from New Teacher Center research suggest that teachers who receive comprehensive induction support for two years are more likely to have classes that:
Achieve greater reading gains than those who do not receive this support
Make gains at rates comparable to veteran teacher colleagues.
Does New Teacher Support Affect Student Achievement? Michael Strong, PhD
Director of Research, NTC
Research tells us that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor in a student’s success. We know that new teachers need extra support to become effective, and that quality is not distributed evenly across the district. A 2007 National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) Study estimated that the cost of turnover is $17,000-$22,000 per teacher. The per teacher cost to the district for this program is well below this. New teacher induction supports increase teacher retention and accelerate effectiveness.
Teachers choose to stay in the profession if several key factors/working conditions are present:
Leadership (e.g. support from principal)
Empowerment to make instructional decisions
On-going and contextualized professional development.
Hirsch (2006)
Initial findings from New Teacher Center research suggest that teachers who receive comprehensive induction support for two years are more likely to have classes that:
Achieve greater reading gains than those who do not receive this support
Make gains at rates comparable to veteran teacher colleagues.
Does New Teacher Support Affect Student Achievement? Michael Strong, PhD
Director of Research, NTC
Research tells us that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor in a student’s success. We know that new teachers need extra support to become effective, and that quality is not distributed evenly across the district. A 2007 National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) Study estimated that the cost of turnover is $17,000-$22,000 per teacher. The per teacher cost to the district for this program is well below this. New teacher induction supports increase teacher retention and accelerate effectiveness.