Sep 15 2008
The mentorship program for new teachers
All probationary teachers are provided with a mentor to assist them in their transition to full time, tenure track positions. This is a valuable state initiative aimed at retaining and growing effective, professional teachers who are committed to their professions.
This year with all the new teacher recruits, it is imperative that mentors be assigned early so as to provide all the time and assistance necessary for nurturing teachers. New teachers are overwhelmed with all the demands and new information that hits them all at the same time – IEP writing, parent meetings, parent complaints, team meetings with related service professionals like counselors who help forge contacts with parents and home schools. These are just some of the few requirements for the job. This does not include lesson planning, curriculum development, searching for instructional resources on the internet etc.
The mentorship programs schools new teachers in the culture of a school, the profession and how it relates to the demands of the job. Mentorship programs provide individual teachers with valueable lessons that are true and tried regarding how to balance work and home, how to time manage, how to manage classroom behaviors etc.
At the Hewes Center this afternoon, Jim Hedlund teacher Union Rep., met with the District Superintendent Bob Guiffreda and Director, Danielle OConnor to push forth the need to immediately place new teachers with mentors. I added to this call by mentioning that I am reluctant to formally evaluate new teachers until they are officially appointed a mentor who can add to my teaching and administrative mentoring of new teachers.
I feel fortunate that many like myself at the Hewes Center are determined to ensure that we give all our new teachers all the necessary tools that they need in order to be successful. This includes empathizing with them, hearing of their first year struggles and helping them through their tough times. The reception for new staff this afternoon was well attended with punch and cookies to ease conversation and camaraderie. I was happy to see folks mingle and share with each other. Yet another sign of a great school year that is in store for us all.
2 responses so far
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I have been teaching for 8 years now and I still struggle with time management. Last year I was new to BOCES and found the mentor program very helpful. The meetings we had were always informative and consisted of things I could use in my classroom. Even though it was not my first year teaching, it was my first year in a new place and there are so many things to learn. I was lucky to have the help of Jim Hedlund, Pam Lundgren, and many others who helped me learn the ropes of a new environment. I did not have a mentor as a first year teacher and I just think it is so nice to get together with other people who are sharing the same experiences. It helps to realize you are not alone. I do notice that many first year teachers are so worried and lack some confidence. I think they should realize how refreshing and fun they really are! Most come in with so much enthusiasm and a great “bag of tricks” from college and their student teaching experiences. I have noticed that all of the veteran teachers here are very happy to help us “newbies.” Everyone is very easy to approach and if one person doesn’t know the answer to something, they know who to send you to for the right information. It is nice to have such a great support system.
This is my fourth year with BOCES and my 2nd as FTE. I have participated in the mentor program and also found it to be very useful. The only drawback to my involvement was that I was not mentored by a teacher in my field, therefore there were many items that weren’t discussed because of relevance. However there are several items that arise during the year and one of my biggest ones was classroom management. My mentor(will refer to as AD) was tremendous. Not only did my mentor discuss problems that I had in my classes, but my mentor also came to observe classes and offered advice. This type of leadership is very important for teachers as they enter a new atmosphere. I have been working with children since 1994. In that time I have worked as a substitute teacher, coach, Physical Education Director of a Boys & Girls Club and teacher. What my mentor did for me was to help me reestablish basics(management and communication) which we all know is fundamental to our success. I believe that our mentor program at BOCES is strong and that we have a good base of teachers that will and do provide valuable mentoring service to our new and incoming teachers.