Mentoring Newsletter
A guide to working with mentees at your school site
March 2021
Hello, BPS mentors.
It's March -- woo hoo! -- and a well-deserved spring break is coming up for you and our mentees. I hope you enjoy every minute of it. Due to the shortened month I am sending only one newsletter, but it is full of info.
Let's get some housekeeping out of the way first. Some of our new teachers on temporary certificates are still getting conflicting or confusing information regarding courses and/or tests listed and required on their FLDOE Statement of Eligibility. Such information could be the difference between these teachers having jobs next year or not. So, it's important that our communication be 100% accurate. As mentors, you can have a follow-up chat with your teachers about what is listed. However, the only three people from the school district who should give definitive direction on what teachers should complete -- and the timeline for it --are Dinah Kramer, Sharon Doucett-Doran, and Lisa Stanley. These three people will keep you up-to-date via email with the latest from the FLDOE -- make sure you read their emails!
Meanwhile, our newest teachers are demonstrating some great teaching. Please, take a minute to send me a quick email with your new teacher's name and a few sentences of how they are shining in their new roles. I will share in the upcoming editions.
Suggestions for your area of focus right now:
1. Personal: Make a Spring Break survival kit for your new teacher with magazines or paperbacks, sunscreen, chocolate candy, etc. and put it on his/her desk. You can pick up all of this at the dollar store but what a memorable gift!
2. Professional: 1. Analyze portfolio work and assist in identifying how it is aligned with the IPPAS performance evaluation criteria. Discuss what else might be included to share with administration. 2. As appropriate, discuss how the process works for the possibility that there may be a reduction in the number of teachers for next year at your school. This can feel very unsettling to a new teacher and the more accurate the information they receive, the more grounded they become.
3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Focus on classroom assessment practices.
4. Organizational Systems: Check in with the new teachers on their record keeping systems. Review school reports they need to complete, grade books, attendance logs, and parent contact records as appropriate.
5. Students: Remind new teachers that if they demonstrate nervousness or speak disparagingly about standardized tests, their students will pick up on those emotions and comments. Encourage them to communicate to students how well the students are prepared for both the content and process of the testing.
6. Colleagues: Ask the principal, as appropriate, to give you a heads-up about any upcoming teaching assignment decisions for the new teachers so that you can be prepared to support the new teacher in dealing with the changes.
7. School Systems: Just before standardized testing events, review the policies and procedures for administering the assessments.
8. Parents and Community: Review the procedures and processes for parent conferences. Discuss what worked in the fall conferences and what needs to be done differently this time around.
*Special Educators: 1. Provide guidance on how to plan for transition of students between buildings and programs for the upcoming school year. 2. Debrief with them on their roles in the administration of standardized tests and help them think through what they would differently next year.
As always, thank you so much for all you do. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please contact Lisa Stanley, Linda Buffum, or me. ๐
- Bridget Reed
reed.bridget@brevardschools.org
Breakdown and suggestions taken from Paula Rutherford's Just Ask Publications
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โญโญโญMentor/Mentee Spotlight โญโญโญ
"Wonderful things are happening in Alexis Essary's classroom. Alexis was hired the Friday before school started (so almost no time to prepare for the year). Additionally, she holds a temporary certificate, with no internship experience and is out-of-area. Yet, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges, her performance as an e-learning instructor is already being used as an example for her more experienced colleagues. Way to go, Alexis! We are so proud of you! ๐"
Shared by Joanna G. DiPeppe
Satellite High School
From Alexis regarding her mentor, Lu Balch:
"Lu Balch has been my mentor since the beginning of the school year, and I couldnโt have made it this far without her! She provides me with ideas and materials and gives me advice on classroom management. On top of that, she has been helping me prepare for the certification test for Physics (6-12). Thank you so much for everything, Lu!"
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โWhen a Teacher Seems Resistantโ
"Letโs consider an example: Say youโre mentoring a teacher around increasing student engagement and youโve described a number of strategies that she could use to get students excited about a topic, get into the lesson, make meaning of the material and connect it to past and future learning. Youโve offered her copies from your favorite texts that describe how to do a think-pair share, organized a fishbowl discussion or a Socratic seminar, and so on. And sheโs not doing any of them. She says, โI tried that fishbowl thing and it didnโt work,โ and now she seems unwilling to try anything else.
If youโre like many of us, youโll start thinking sheโs resistant. After all, sheโs not doing anything different, right? But you might also be confused because she said she wanted to work on thisโshe asked for your mentoring in this area. So whatโs going on?
Click on the link below to finish this quick article to find out what's going on and how you can address it! I promise you -- it will be worth it!
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๐๐ ๐Its that time of year! ๐๐ ๐
Rookie and Emerging Teacher of the Year Nominations -- due at ESF on or before March 19th!
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๐ธ"Teaching, Leading, and Caring for i-Gen Students"- BPS' 2nd Annual Professional Development Conference
The Teacher Leadership Council is excited to support our second annual professional development conference, Teaching, Leading, and Caring for iGen Students. This year the conference will be virtual beginning on Wednesday, April 14 and culminating on Friday, April 16, with two-hour evening sessions. Learning opportunities will focus on igniting passion, engaged learning environments, equity, and supporting collaborative communities in our current educational climate.
The Teacher Leadership Council works to promote teacher advocacy, leadership, communication, and service throughout our school district by sponsoring special events, communicating with teachers, collaborating with district leadership, and supporting new teachers. Throughout our district, teachers are designing unique activities that spark engagement, motivation, and equitable learning that continue to support the Vision for Excellent Instruction for all students.
We are looking for innovative elementary and secondary teachers for breakout room sessions who have found successful ways to create engaging learning environments for students, keep their passion for teaching alive, and continue to build collaborative cultures within their classrooms, schools, and communities. Please complete the presenter proposal template no later than Tuesday, March 23. You will be notified by April 1 if your proposal has been accepted. You will be compensated for three hours of[ planning at $25/hr.
For questions, please contact Linda Buffum at Ext 11262; or Shruti Raman at Ext.11274;
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โ๏ธEndorsement Courses Now Open For Registration!
Many of your mentees are required to take courses leading to an endorsement or even as a state training requirement. Having a conversation with them about these requirements and guiding them through the process of signing up for courses can be really helpful to a new teacher. Starting In 2021-2022 school year all teachers instructing Tier 3 (Course B/C) students in reading intervention are required to have a reading endorsement or reading certification. All teachers working with ESOL students are required to have some form of training based on what they teach. The coursework offered in Brevard County is free to all BPS teachers at our public and charter schools. Reading, ESOL, and Gifted summer courses are now open for registration. All ESOL courses and most Reading courses begin on April 5th, and registration for these courses will close on March 29th. Gifted summer courses begin April 27th. Spring gifted courses are starting March 22nd . If you have a mentee that has questions about training requirements or needs assistance, please make sure to connect them with the ESOL Contact or Literacy Coach in your building.