Sabis Educational System

Zandrina Atherley

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts in 2001, Zandrina Atherley began her educational career working with TRIO programs in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  In 2006, she made the transition to working in the charter School sector, starting her tenure with the SABIS Educational Systems Inc. at the Holyoke Community Charter School, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In her capacity as Academic Quality Controller, she provided support and guidance to teachers in grades KG-8.  During her time there she was able to work to establish a dynamic environment where teachers and students alike became lifelong learners. She began to establish relationships with other network schools and create opportunities for engagement with staff and parents alike, activities that lend themselves to mentoring and professional development.

Recognizing the benefits of a clear and efficient mentoring program, Zandrina decided to take the Mentoring in Action course in order to build her ability to mentor new teachers and more importantly to create a cohort of teacher leaders who would become the leaders within her building. After experiencing the results of implementing the Mentoring in Action practices, she was so encouraged by the results, she enrolled another cohort of her teachers and this time acted as s a Master Mentor Evaluator (MME) for Mentoring in Action, reading reflections and responding to journal prompts for teachers who were learning how to become mentors and mentor trainers.

For the last three years Zandrina has moved into a corporate role with the SABIS organization, working with four additional charter school in Massachusetts and New Jersey in order to provide similar supports and professional development.  In this new role, with the continued support of the mentoring experiences and knowledge gained through MIA, she now has the opportunity to not only work with and develop teachers, she now also works with a number of administrators who have themselves become Master Mentors. In the end, her real passion resides in showing people their strengths and getting them to share and collaborate to enhance their experiences as educational leaders and as a result provide the best instruction for the children they serve.