Mentoring Newsletter
A guide to working with mentees at your school site
Pre-Planning Mentoring Focus 2023
Welcome to the new school year! Thank you so much for your continued mentoring support in our district. If you are new to the mentoring team, we are so glad to have you on board!
The preplanning week is so important for grounding our new teachers before students arrive. If you haven't already, please reach out to your mentee as soon as possible. Ask them to walk with you to the first meeting, sit with you at the table, join you for lunch, etc.
A couple of updates on whom to contact for assistance with NEW teachers:
- Temporary certificate: Lisa Stanley stanley.lisa@brevardschools.org
- Professional certificate: Teri Jabbari jabbari.teresa@brevardschools.org
Lead mentors, if you have any questions, as always, please contact Linda Buffum for assistance at buffum.linda@brevardschools.org
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I have broken down the tips for this time period like I have in previous years. You do not have to do them all – just pick a few on which to focus.
· One to thing to really target right now is your mentee’s lesson plans before the first week of school. We have many temporary certificate teachers who have never taught. They do not yet have the pacing down, and a quick look at their lesson plans will let you know if they have enough going on to keep students engaged in learning. Even if they are a new graduate with a professional certificate, please check out their plans for any lapses.
· Go over your mentee's classroom management before the first day of school. Explain the best management program is a strong lesson plan! Model and practice a few protocols/procedures while no students are in the room – how to greet students at the door, how your mentee will talk about the upcoming year and expectations, how your mentee will go over the classroom procedures, voice, tone, etc.
1. Personal: Most of you will have already met and welcomed your new mentees to your school. If you have not, contact them as soon as possible to introduce yourself and our program. If signups for additional duties are still circulating the school, if at all possible, try to encourage your new teacher from volunteering for every opportunity– at least in the first semester. Remember, they don’t know what they don’t know. Managing the classroom will, most likely, be challenging enough for them.
2. Professional: A) Explain the induction and mentoring program. Include what the new teacher can expect from you and the new teacher’s responsibilities as well. B) Be a role model by always speaking professionally about administrative staff, support staff, and other teachers. This is a crazy time, and our mentees feed off our energy. If they sense you are stressed out, they will be too.
3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Debrief district and school curriculum meetings. Most of our acronyms and terms have no meaning for the new teacher.
4. Organizational Systems: A) Set up a card file, three-ring binder, or online communication system to provide the new teacher organization tips throughout the year. B) Discuss strategies for organizing the paperwork and emails to and from parents as well as school and district offices.
5. Students: A) Work with your new teacher to identify necessary procedures and routines. B) Discuss the importance of community building activities during the first week.
6. Colleagues: Explain the support services available and provide a list of the names of providers at the school and district level.
7. School Systems: Review procedures for fire drills and school crisis plans.
8. Parents and Community: Explain the importance of early home contact and assist the new teacher in thinking through how to establish positive partnerships with parents. Preview conversations that may pop up with parents and students who come into the classroom to meet teachers.
*Special Educators: Model and/or co-facilitate an IEP meeting. We have many new ESE teachers this year and mentoring this group is a priority.
Thanks and here's to a great year!
-Teri Jabbari
Focus area topics taken from Paula Rutherford's Just Ask Publications
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✔️From the certification desk:
Now is a good time to clarify these certification points with mentees:
- If your new teacher came from another Florida district – please request his/her in-service records to be transferred to Brevard.
- If your mentee has a new address since applying to the FLDOE – please have them update their address with the FLDOE
- If your mentee's official transcripts were requested from the FLDOE, please have the new teacher submit as soon as possible as this delays the issuance of the teaching certificate.