Mentorship for Beginning Teachers

Support for our new teachers means support for our students!

Overview

All beginning teachers holding a level I New Mexico teaching license and employed in a New Mexico public school district, charter school, or state agency shall successfully complete a one to three year beginning teacher mentorship program provided by the public school district, charter school or state agency. The New Mexico Legislature recognizes the importance of beginning teacher mentoring in New Mexico and has allocated money to help districts support their beginning teacher mentoring programs.

• Mentoring Summary Report 2002-03

Induction and Mentorship of new teachers has been identified nationally as a critical part of teacher retention, student achievement and enhanced school culture. We must not wait long years for new teachers to acquire the necessary skills to become effective teachers through trial and error. Quality support for beginning teachers can make an almost immediate positive impact on their students.

On the whole, the school reform movement has ignored the obvious: What teachers know and can do makes the critical difference in what children learn. Policies can improve schools only if the people in them are armed with the knowledge, skills, and supports they need. Student learning in this country will improve only when we focus our efforts on improving teaching.

— from the Report of the National Commission of Teaching and America's Future

Current research from the New Teacher Center at Santa Cruz supports the funding of strong mentorship programs with this data:

For every $1 spent in comprehensive multi-year teacher mentoring programs, the school will see a return of $1.66.

— NTC Research Brief, June 2007 and S1979 bill

Furthermore, research indicates that a comprehensive induction program for new teachers leads to significant reading achievement gains for their students.

— NTC Research Brief, January 2006

Focus

Public policy provides a framework for positive change. The Public Education Department and the New Mexico State Legislature believe in the importance of Mentoring and Induction for New Teachers and support it with policy.

• NMAC 6.60.10
• Statute 22-10A-7

This policy support includes a focus on District and Charter School Mentorship Programs, specifically the alignment of the programs with statute and NMAC rule.

Process

A survey instrument was developed and implemented in February 2008. The intention of this survey process was to ask beginning teachers, mentor teachers and administrators about their experience with district and school-level mentorship programs.

• View the Mentorship Survey Report 2008
  

Response to Survey

In response to the survey, the New Mexico Public Education (NMPED) is using resources from the Transition to Teaching Program (T2T), a discretionary federal grant program, to support mentor training. NMT2T is offering mentor training, first to mentors of the program's recruits, and, as space is available, to mentors of "non-partner" districts.

Additionally, an analysis of survey results indicated that a revised District/Charter-level Mentorship Program Plan template was needed to clarify minimal expectations for district-level mentorship programs.

Resources

These forms are provided to help build and monitor the mentoring program

Support for New Teachers Through High-Quality Mentoring and Induction: A Resource Packet Provided for New Mexico School Districts and Charters by the New Mexico Public Education Department

• Download the complete Mentorship Packet

Download individual forms:

• About These Mentor Forms
• Mentor Self-Survey
• Mentor Application
• Partnership Information Sheet
• Compatability Report
• Protege Needs Assessment Part 1
• Protege Needs Assessment Part 2
• Mentor Time Log
• Non-Evaluative Observation
• Collaborative Assessment Log w/ New Mexico Teacher Competencies
• Mentor Teacher/Protege Checklist - Elementary
• Mentor Teacher/Protege Checklist - Mid-School
• Mentor Teacher/Protege Checklist - High School
• Power of Peer Groups
• Mentoring Program Milestones for Year 1 Proteges
• Mentoring Program Milestones for Year 2 Proteges
• Mentoring Program Milestones for Year 3 Proteges

The use of these forms is not required; they are a possible option, and available at the bottom of this page. Districts and charters are free to create their own documents that help to monitor program fidelity.

Do not include the actual forms in the District Mentorship Program Plan template. You may refer to a form by name or description if it is used to support a component of your program, but do not send the forms to the Professional Development Bureau. The template will be evaluated by the District-level Mentorship Program Plan Rubric.

Updates and Resources for Building Your District or Charter School Program to Support New Teachers

• EventsNM will offer information regarding workshops in best practices for beginning teachers and training for veteran teachers who wish to become mentors.
• Online modules in best practices for new teachers were created for New Mexico Transition to Teaching by Vanderbilt University, and are available to the public at no charge.
• High-quality video professional development, PD360 is available to new teachers who are NMT2T recruits and their mentors in schools that partner with NMT2T through a special licensing agreement to serve these beginning teachers. These online videos address best teaching practices and offer mentor support.