Problems to Possibilities: How do Mentors and Mentees Find the Time to Meet?
Maryanne Margiotta, District Mentor Coordinator in the Southwick-Tolland Regional School District for the past 11 years, explains what has worked in her district.
Getting mentors and mentees to meet can be a challenge. But over the years our district has provided lots of support through structured meeting times and direct observation. Teachers new to the district are assigned a mentor to work with them for at least 50 hours during their first school year, with specific training dates for both mentors and mentees, but also combined meetings which bring everyone together. Each 45-minute training session follows a curriculum aligned with the Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation standards, but we also allow time for teachers to discuss challenges, celebrate success, and share tips and strategies (and, of course, lots of refreshments and raffle prizes!).
Mentors and mentees are often (but not always) matched according to grades, buildings or subjects, which makes scheduling time together much easier. Teachers carve out times that work best for them — before school, after school or during common prep times. Our mentors log the time spent with the mentee using a Collaborative Log which aligns with the Teacher Evaluation standards, documenting what was discussed at each meeting and the action steps needed.
Our district uses Carol Radford’s two mentoring books: Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter — both HIGHLY recommended resources for any mentoring program! I have reviewed MANY different mentoring books and can confidently say that these two books are the best! They are outstanding resources for mentor/mentee pairs who wish to align their mentoring program with the teacher evaluation standards and follow a comprehensive, user-friendly curriculum geared for today’s busy teachers. The books contain plenty of topics that mentors and mentees encounter every day — and there is lots of information about how to structure meeting times. I love the section about how to create “mentoring conversations.” Using the book I guide teachers in structuring 5-, 10-, 15-, 20- 30- and 60-minute meetings which promote teacher conversations — no matter how hectic your days become. If you’ve ever said, “it’s so hard to find the time to meet,” then check out these resources — you’ll discover you can make good mentoring happen in all kinds of different settings!
Another great thing about our district’s mentoring program is the time given for mentoring observations. We offer mentor/mentee pairs three days throughout the school year in which they can schedule a substitute for the entire day while they participate in classroom observations. The first one is a chance for the mentor to observe the new teacher, and the second observation allows the mentee to visit the mentor’s classroom. The third is a time for mentors and mentees to structure in a way that makes the most sense for them. They can visit another teacher’s classroom and get an entirely new perspective; some mentors use part of the time to visit the mentee’s classroom again, or mentees can observe teachers who are teaching the same subjects/grade levels. Other mentees use the opportunity visit teachers in other buildings and grade levels in the district — or even outside the district.
So if you ask us, “How do our mentors and mentees find the time to meet?” our district has found LOTS of great ways to do it! The substitute teachers and the time given to us by our district — along with Carol Radford’s terrific mentoring books to guide us — are key factors in our successful program!
Maryanne Margiotta
District Mentor Coordinator
Southwick Regional School