Mentoring Newsletter
A guide to working with mentees at your school site
February 15th - 28th:
Hello, BPS mentors.
I hope you are enjoying our warm weather -- Florida is definitely the place to be right now! Our great weather has always been an enticement for relocation to our area. But even more important than the weather to recruiting and retaining teachers is the vital role YOU play as mentors. Because of you and the mentorship you are providing, we are keeping more and more of our teachers. And, that word spreads! As we recruit, one of the top questions we get is: Will I have a mentor? I am so proud that we can say not only "yes," but that our new hires will have phenomenal mentors who will be with them every step of the way! Thank you so much for your work.
Ok, some housekeeping. Please, lead mentors -- and I am going say it loud for those in the back -- UPDATE YOUR INDUCTION ROSTERS! The district and state must have accurate numbers and your stipend is based on having these forms complete. Thank you for your attention to completing this input.
Suggestions for your area of focus right now:
1. Personal: Ask your mentee if they have plans for spring break. Although it's a month away and travel may still be a challenge, chatting about a future outing or event may be just the thing to keep all of us going forward with a positive attitude.
2. Professional: Assist in planning for their upcoming formal observations.
3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Discuss how bell work, openers, and anchoring activities provide opportunities to revisit concepts and information as well as provide opportunities for needed standardized test preparation practice.
4. Organizational Systems: Explore ways to better use technology to manage professional, instructional, and student information.
5. Students: Have the new teachers preview standardized testing procedures and processes with students.
6. Colleagues: Bring the principal up to date on how the mentoring process is working.
7. School Systems: Be sure that our new teachers are well informed and have accurate information about scheduling and teaching assignments for the upcoming school year as soon as it is available. Be mindful that rumors may start circulating around this time of year about possible changes.
8. Parents and Community: Ensure that the new teachers remind parents of the upcoming standardized testing. Help them develop a plan for letting parents know what they can do to help create a positive and productive testing environment.
*Special Educators: Coach them in working with general education teachers in setting up the testing accommodations and modifications identified in IEPs.
- Bridget Reed
reed.bridget@brevardschools.org
Breakdown and suggestions taken from Paula Rutherford's Just Ask Publications
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Attributes of Meaningful Mentoring Relationships
- Setting aside and being "present" in the moment
- Seeking out the strengths and “gifts” our colleagues bring
- Providing a safe space for discovery and sharing of mistakes (aka learning opportunities)
- Being aware of the importance of sense of care, trust in the relationship
- Remembering that a few words at an opportune time can make a huge difference
- Sharing authentic JOY!
Flexible
- Acting as a resource rather than being the expert
- Collaborating to problem solve
- Thinking beyond 1 to 1 matching to help colleagues build a mentoring web
- Opening our minds (and hearts) to different approaches and acknowledging the complexity and messiness of learning
Growth Oriented
- Engaging in reciprocal learning
- Using scaling questions ("on a scale from 1-10") as a protocol for debriefing and “checking in”
- Being a model ourselves by walking the talk and following through
- Deliberately "marinating" what's working well
- Letting go of “mentor guilt" - and continuing to connect with colleagues who bring us joy, strength, passion and hope
-From The Ontario Ministry of Education
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Employee Assistance Program
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We are on the upswing in the teacher's first year! Please share this information with your new teachers - there is definitely comfort in numbers.