By Claire Lowenstein
Barack Obama gave a speech last year in Philadelphia on his vision of education in this country. He explained how important mentor teachers are in retaining strong and dedicated teachers in schools: “We know that when you pair experienced mentor teachers with new teachers, those new teachers are much more likely to stay in the profession. So let’s make sure we start developing more mentor teachers so we can start recruiting and keeping the new generation of teachers we need.” This pairing is vital because then teachers will feel appreciated and supported, and are also held accountable for student performance, growth and production as educators.
Last month, there was an article in Education Week written about how a new mentoring program was found helpful for novice teachers in New York City. Research at the New Teacher Center at the University of California showed how beneficial it was for new teachers to meet with veteran teachers on a consistent schedule.
California is spending $36 million to put experienced teachers on the job as full-time mentors who are able to give new teachers at least 1 and ¼ hours a week of individual teaching. That is the opposite of what happened in New York City this past year. The mentor positions were excessed or assistant principals were asked to mentor new teachers. This is absurd and counterproductive because that is the same person who completes the teacher formal observations. A coach or mentor is a person who a teacher should feel comfortable with and open to share problems he or she is facing in the classroom. If their assistant principal is the mentor the teacher will feel inhibited to really share the real concerns and problems he or she is encountering with parents, students and possibly administration. A mentor should be a fellow teacher who knows what it feels like to be consumed with teaching.
It can also help with teacher retention which is also so important to a successful school. It is an area that should be looked at and studied. Keeping innovative, smart teachers who are willing to collaborate and design curriculum and conduct research should be an essential focus of any school. Having a staff in schools who believe in the vision and philosophy of a specific school and the administration of the entire system is a guaranteed equation for success. How can a school system entice solid teachers to stay and become a “lifer,” who is a teacher or someone who works in public education for his or her whole career? That is why it is essential for educators to remind the future president the positive effects of investing in the position of teacher mentors within school.
Mentoring should also take place between different schools within a region or neighborhood. Looking closely at schools and witnessing which schools are performing and which are failing is also vital. A school system should offer help to struggling schools and also reward high performing ones. One positive idea is when a successful school becomes a mentor school to a struggling one. That is currently happening at the school that I am a teacher at. Teachers and the principal from the school we mentor visit my school once a month. A team from their school observes classes at my school and then we meet afterwards and debrief on curriculum and successful strategies that they can bring back to their school. Also, it allows the teachers and principals a chance to ask clarifying questions and share observations. The school we mentor is a new school with mostly beginner teachers and a young principal with less experience than my principal who founded my school fifteen years ago. This model is a successful way of helping a struggling school turn things around and it also extends the community between schools.