Mentoring Newsletter
A guide to working with mentees at your school site
October 2022
Hello, BPS mentors.
I hope you made it through the hurricane safely. If you have loved ones on Florida's west coast, my heart goes out to you and them.
I can't believe how many team and mentor meetings I have joined that are so full of ideas and strategies being shared by new teachers and veterans. Way to go! The positive dynamics in the meetings are worth a closer look because I have watched many of our skillful mentors guide the meetings toward specific instructional and learning-goal discussions while allowing feelings and views to be heard. This is not an easy skill -- especially when many teachers are feeling overwhelmed. How do these mentors keep the discussions on track and not allow the talk to go down rabbit holes? The mentor listens first, then goes down the path of problem-solving alongside their colleague.
Key observed points:
· The mentor physically and mentally tuning in when the new teacher says she/he was struggling
· The mentor listening carefully
· The mentor asking open-ended questions that guide the new teacher toward the core issue
· The mentor not telling the new teacher what to do
· Instead, the mentor partnering with the new teacher in finding solutions
· And the mentor helping the new teacher think of any additional resources that could help in the situation
These positive interactions have allowed new teachers to walk out of meetings feeling encouraged and empowered. This is so important during this phase of a new teacher's year. Sometimes, just having an empathetic ear is what is needed.
In this edition, I'm asking you to focus on a few areas that you judge to be the most important:
1. Personal: Monitor new teachers for fatigue and disillusionment. Refer to the first year phases graph below. Check in with your mentees and truly listen to how they are doing. Encourage a teacher who is feeling exhausted to take some time for themselves. This may mean using a personal day to re-energize. Substitutes are very difficult to find right now but if your new teacher is right on the edge of burnout, this might be a proactive move toward a rejuvenation that will take him/her through the the rest of this semester.
2. Professional: Ensure your mentees are feeling informed and ready for the first round of formal observations.
3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Introduce new teachers to the cumulative records and the student data on their students. Most new teachers will not have had the chance to access the cumulative records yet or understand the importance of that data.
4. Organizational Systems: Discuss time management both at school and during the after-school hours.
5. Students: Discuss concerns about students who are struggling and identify interventions that might work. Also, make sure you discuss student behaviors around Halloween and what they can expect the Tuesday after Halloween if there has been a lot of candy and hoopla.
6. Colleagues: Arrange a meeting of classroom teachers and the ESE teachers who support the learning of ESE students in the classroom. Design an agenda that helps the two get to know each other on a personal level and for each to better know how to make connections between the two programs for the learners.
7. School Systems: Discuss the school holiday policies with an emphasis on how Halloween is handled.
8. Parents and Community: Do a room tour and help your new teacher see the classroom through the eyes of administrators coming in for observations. Ensure that learning standards and student work dominate.
*Special Educators: Review the first few IEPs prepared by the new teachers and provide feedback on accuracy and completeness of document.
Thank you. You mean more to your new teachers than you will ever know! 💚
-Bridget Reed
reed.bridget@brevardschools.org
Breakdown and suggestions taken from Paula Rutherford's Just Ask Publications
*********************************************************************
☀️Mentors, please share☀️
New Teacher Academy
New Teacher Academy will be held Thursday, Oct.13th. It is required for all teachers new to Brevard -- even if they are experienced. If a teacher took New Teacher Academy once they do not need to take it again.
Course#16443
Section #413889
If you have any questions, please contact:
Lisa Stanley at ext. 11243 or Stanley.Lisa@Brevardschools.org. or Tracy Seibert at ext. 11237 or seibert.tracy@brevardschools.org
Professional Development Certification Program (PDCP)
New Course for your mentees!
The Learning Cycle & Differentiation
Participants will learn the importance of the Learning Cycle and its impact on student learning. Teachers will receive tools and strategies to apply in their classroom to maximize engagement and improve instructional practice. Participants will learn how to differentiate for their students in order to meet all our student’s needs, abilities, and strengths.
November 14th 8:30-3:30 ESF Rooms 7&8
Course #18386
Section #413875
*********************************************************************
✔️ Certification Information✔️
Professional Certificate renewals:
- The Florida Department of Education’s (FL DOE) website system will require the teacher to apply for their renewals directly through their website as they are now paperless. Apply (fldoe.org)
If the teacher has difficulty with this online application process the teacher should contact the FL DOE directly at Application technical support: FLCertify@fldoe.org
- School and department secretaries were provided the renewal steps and documents. You may also access the instructions and payroll form from our Brevard Public Schools Certification webpage: Human Resources / Certification (brevardschools.org)
- The deadline for renewal is Monday, April 3, 2023.
- If you need assistance with determining your in-service points this may be helpful: Finding credits on your Transcript
*********************************************************************
⭐Exemplar Mentoring Programs⭐ Leadership Team Meeting 9/13/2022
If you have a question or looking for new ideas on how to strengthen your school's program, please feel free to reach out to any of these lead mentors or contact Linda Buffum at ext. 11262 or buffum.linda@brevardschools.org
*********************************************************************
Getting close 🡺 Mid-Year Evaluation for teachers with less than one year with BPS
A few things to keep in mind regarding the mid-year evaluation:
- It only affects instructional staff that have less than one year within BPS. This means ALL teachers newly employed by BPS this year regardless of experience.
- It is formative in nature. The final score on a teacher's mid-year evaluation is NOT utilized in the final score in the new teacher's Summative I or Summative II annual evaluation.
- New teachers, with their evaluating administrator, agree upon which student performance measures will be used to identify student growth.
- The student growth measure rating will comprise 37% of the teacher's mid-year evaluation score. Again, this new element is meant solely as formative feedback to the teacher.
- The mid-year evaluation will occur before the end of the semester, January 13th.
- New teachers will use this same rubric for the mid-year Self-Reflection on ProGOE.
What can you do as your teacher's mentor to support them in the mid-year evaluation?
- Model a strong growth mindset - especially with our most inexperienced teachers. At the New Teacher Academy, we share with our new teachers that most beginning teachers would be in the developing category on the evaluation rubric (IPPAS) at this point in the school year - and that's okay because most of them are developing! With the addition of the mid-year evaluation , please use your upcoming mentoring time to go over the wording differences between developing and proficient on the new rubric addition (see the rubric below). All teachers want to do well, but it's important to call attention to key words in the scoring rubric -- all, most, some, and no, for example -- regarding student growth.
- Share examples with your mentees what would constitute student growth or achievement sources. (See the examples shown below)
- Emphasize appropriate use of formative assessment data (to inform instructional decisions). Discuss what formative assessments you do in your classroom and how you are able to change direction mid-lesson or for the next day if student feedback shows confusion or needing more time to master a standard. Explain what percentage of your students you require to show mastery in order to move on. Many new teachers will hold the entire class back due to a few students struggling with a concept. Explain how the class can move on while supporting those few students by giving individualized support separately. Use stories and examples here as needed.