Sioux City Community Schools -

Our two-year Mentoring and Induction Program provides guidance and support for beginning teachers. District mentors assist new teachers in adapting to their schools' climate and culture while providing guidance in areas such as curriculum and teaching strategies. We encourage beginning teachers to turn to their mentors for support and advice.

The goals of the program are to:

• Enhance student achievement

• Build a supportive environment for beginning educators

• Increase the retention of promising beginning educators

• Promote the personal and professional well-being of educators

• Support continuous improvement and growth of beginning educators

The two-year sequence of content and activities is designed to support beginning teachers by:

• Developing and enhancing competencies for the Iowa Teaching Standards, and

• Providing research-based instructional strategies, and

• Reflecting the needs of the beginning teacher employed by the district or area education.

Each Journey to Excellence learning project, except the Goals and Hopes LP, focuses on an Iowa Teaching Standard and allows the beginning educator to shape projects to meet his or her own needs. Learning projects for classroom management (ITS #6), professional growth (ITS #7), professional responsibilities and ethics (ITS #8), and setting goals and identifying hopes will be completed in both years one and two. When needed and desired, other learning projects can be completed a second time. The focus of action research on the Iowa Teaching Standards and those formative performance assessments will help develop the competence of the beginning educator. Each learning project also embeds conversation and application directly to the SCCSD curriculum, instruction, assessment, and areas of improvement focus.

In addition to the Journey to Excellence projects and sequence, additional support to beginning educators will be provided through the following structured activities and supports:

A program designed to reflect effective staff development practices and adult professional needs in teaching, demonstration, and coaching through:

• Research that describes the personal and professional needs of beginning teachers,

• A clear description of the roles and responsibilities of the mentor,

• Strategies to enhance the mentor’s ability to provide guidance and support to beginning teachers,

• Skills needed for classroom demonstration and coaching, and

• District expectations for beginning teacher competence in Iowa teaching standards.

Journey to Excellence provides the foundation for training and support for mentors and beginning educators. Mentors are prepared to guide beginning educators through learning projects designed around each of the Iowa Teaching Standards and support them in acclimation to teaching. The District also utilizes Mentoring Matters: Learning-focused Conversations and the accompanying Learning-focused Mentoring, A Professional Development Resource Kit. The book and kit address the following modules with emphasis on both awareness and skill development:

1. The Mentor as Growth Agent: Developing Learning Skills: Focused Relationship

2. A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction: Consulting, Collaborating, and Coaching

3. Maximizing Time & Attention by Attending Fully: Offering Support, Creating Challenges, and Facilitating Professional Vision

4. Purposeful Paraphrasing: Planning, Problem-Solving, and Reflecting Conversations

5. Crafting Mediational and Questions

6. The Planning Conversation Template

7. The Reflecting Conversation Template

8. The Problem-Solving Template

Each District mentor participates in four days of training, which includes three days of training during the first year as a mentor and one day during the second year. Prior to the start of the school year, typically during the week before school starts, a one-day Mentoring Orientation and Induction training takes place and is designed for mentors and beginning educators together.

Participants receive an overview of Journey to Excellence including program expectations for the beginning educator, an introduction to A Framework for Understanding the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria, and a focus on ITS#6 Classroom Management and on the Goals and Hopes learning project.

Participants also focus on communication and the development of mentoring relationships. The remaining days of training are for mentors only. Two of these days are scheduled prior to the beginning of the new school year, typically in early August and before the Mentoring Orientation and Induction Day. Three of these days will occur during the first year of mentoring, and one day will occur during the second year of mentoring.

The mentor training schedule is as follows:

Intro to Mentoring (Days 1 and 2) Mentors only - August
Orientation and Induction (Day 3) Mentors & BEs - August
Mentor Training (Day 4) Mentors only - Year 2 - August

Skills for coaching, collaboration, and consulting are the centerpiece of training mentors. Experienced mentors may periodically receive refresher learning experiences to sustain and strengthen their mentoring skills. Mentor training is provided by the District's Mentoring Leadership Team, which includes certified Journey to Excellence trainers.

Evaluation Process:

The mentoring program evaluation process aims to evaluate District's success in meeting program goals and provide for program revisions. Program evaluation includes a collection of multiple data sources which are detailed below. All feedback results and data sources will be analyzed by the District Facilitator and Leadership Team in preparation for training/meetings and to determine program revisions. An annual mentoring and induction report based on participant and program data will be prepared and shared with District Administration and with the Teacher Quality Committee and others upon request.

Written Feedback: This feedback is gathered by stakeholders through the following:

• Annual questionnaire for beginning educators, mentors, and principals (tailored to each stakeholder)

• Feedback gathered at the orientation and induction day

• Feedback gathered at all mentor training sessions

• End-of-year reflection completed on the last day of mentor training in the first year

Collaboration Log: Mentors keep a collaboration log to document the frequency, time, and focus of mentoring meetings with their beginning educators. This log also helps mentoring teams track what they are doing and what they do between mentoring sessions to help support the beginning educator. This log is submitted to the District’s Mentoring Facilitator at the end of the year.

Retention Data: The Human Resources department collects data on retention rates for five years following the hire of an educator. Whenever possible, this includes data regarding why an educator may leave the District and/or profession.

Mentor Application & Selection Process

Mentor Requirements:

1. An employed individual who holds a valid license issued under Chapter 272

2. Individuals must have a record of three or more years of successful teaching experience with at least one of these years within the District

3. Must receive a positive recommendation from the applicant’s current administrator and from a colleague

4. Must have completed probation and be on the career teacher track

5. Demonstrate professional commitment to both the improvement of teaching and learning and the development of beginning educators

6. Must be able to make an ongoing, regular commitment of time to support and meet with a beginning educator—an average of one hour per week and a minimum of 15 hours per semester outside of contract time—and must be able to attend all scheduled training and mentoring activities

7. Demonstrate professional and instructional leadership, model professional and ethical behavior, and maintain professional confidentiality

8. Must be able to make an ongoing, regular commitment of time to support and meet with a beginning educator—an average of one hour per week and a minimum of 15 hours per semester outside of contract time—and must be able to attend all scheduled training and mentoring activities

   g. Demonstrate professional and instructional leadership, model professional and ethical behavior, and maintain professional confidentiality

How to Apply:

District educators interested in becoming a mentor are expected to complete an application process. Anyone who feels they meet the above requirements may apply. The application and selection process includes the following:

Application: Applicants will be required to complete an application which will include a) current assignment, b) teaching experience, c) a description of educational background and skills that would qualify the individual to be a mentor, and d) a description of the individual’s professional commitment to both the improvement of teaching and learning and the development of beginning educators. The application process typically takes place each spring.

Recommendations: Applicants will also be required to secure two recommendations using a mentor recommendation form provided by the District—one from the applicant’s current administrator and one from a colleague. This recommendation form will include: a) a rating of a variety of skills that are expected of mentors, such as instructional leadership, communication skills, confidentiality, etc., b) a description of the applicant’s educational background and skills that would qualify the individual to be a mentor, & c) description of the individual’s professional commitment to the improvement of teaching and learning.

Review of Applications: All completed applications that include the online application form and two recommendations will be reviewed by the Mentoring Facilitator.

Attendance at Intro to Training: The Intro to Mentoring session in the summer/early fall will be expected of all applicants who have met the initial mentoring application criteria based on the review by the Leadership Team. Through this training day, the Mentoring Leadership Team will also get to know the applicants and confirm that each applicant meets the qualifications to be a mentor. This will occur in place of a traditional interview process. If any applicant does not meet initial requirements or concerns are noted during the initial training, the Mentoring Facilitator will make a determination of whether the educator will become a mentor; this will include consultation with the current building administrator in which the educator works as well as communication with the educator who applied to be a mentor.

It is a high priority of the District to pair beginning educators with mentors who work in the same school location. If the number of beginning educators who need mentoring exceeds the number of mentors available in a school building, then the District Facilitator will work with the building principal to identify and recommend someone to become a mentor. This principal recommendation will be used as the basis for acceptance into initial mentor training, and additional application materials will not be required.

The building principal will assign mentors from a list of approved mentors provided by the District’s Mentoring Facilitator. On occasion, a beginning educator or mentor may transfer to a different school location between the first and second year of the mentoring cycle. If this occurs, the District Facilitator will work with the beginning educator, mentor, and principal to determine if the mentoring partnership will continue or if a new mentor in the same building location will be assigned. The input of the beginning educator and the mentor will be an important factor in making this determination. Mentors work under the guidance of the District’s Mentoring Facilitator and the building principal.

For questions about the program or details regarding the application process, please contact:

Janelle Olesen
Mentor Program and Leadership Team Leader
Send Janelle a Message