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No one mentoring blueprint can fit all agencies. Grantee and delegate agencies can support, structure, and evaluate mentoring; provide mentor training; and mentor protégés in a variety of ways. In designing a mentoring program, agencies need to select the mentoring features that best meet the needs of their programs and teachers. This publication has provided guidance through discussions of issues and examples of how agencies can choose to implement different aspects of mentoring. Now it is time to take a closer look at how different Head Start agencies and other organizations design their mentoring initiatives.
These mentoring programs were chosen because they -
Represent mentoring in different types of settings, including center-based and family child care
Are located in different geographical environments
Offer different kinds of agency support
Have different ways of identifying and selecting mentor teachers, including formal application and observation process and informal process
Represent mentors who have full-time mentoring responsibilities and mentors who are also teachers
Have mentors who come from within the agency and who hold positions outside the agency
Employ different methods of interaction between mentors and protégés, such as distance technology and face-to-face.
Each highlighted mentoring program contains -
A text box summarizing the key characteristics of the mentoring approach. Agencies can select those mentoring programs with characteristics most closely related to their needs or program structure.
Descriptions of the following issues: program goals; agency support; program structure (mentor and protégé identification, selection, and matching, and mentor protégé/ratios); mentor training and follow-up support; mentoring content and strategies; and evaluation of mentoring.
Seeing how mentoring works in other settings can help agencies select the mentoring features that will work best for them.
A Comprehensive Look At Mentoring In Several Programs
California Early Childhood Mentoring Program, Hayward, California
Community Action Program of Evansville (CAPE) Head Start, Evansville, Indiana
The Greater Boston Early Childhood Mentoring Program, Boston, Massachusetts
Homes Uniquely Giving Support (H.U.G.S.), Fayetteville, Arkansas
Macon Program for Progress, New Horizons Training Center, Franklin, North Carolina
Washington, D.C., Public Schools Head Start Programs, Washington, D.C.
Key Characteristics
California Early Childhood Mentoring Program
Program Background
The California Early Childhood Mentoring Program is the largest early childhood mentoring program in the country. It was established in 1988 as a privately funded project, and since 1992 has expanded with funding from the state Child Care and Development Block Grant.
The mentoring program is built upon the State's community college structure. Colleges benefit because those offering programs in early childhood development need diverse settings for their students' practicum placements. Community child care teachers and providers who are selected as mentors supervise one or more practicum students in their family child care homes or in their centers.
A major strength of the program, according to its director, is that it involves many different players in the community in a collaborative effort to promote quality child care and early childhood education. Community colleges, mentors, and protégés all benefit. This program includes 0-5, 5-12, and before- and after-school care.
Program Goals
To enable practicum students (protégés) to complete course requirements with a diverse pool of mentors
To promote collaboration among the key players of all child development communities toward the improvement of early care and education
To promote the Master Teacher level in the California State Child Development Permit
To reduce turnover among child care teachers
To use the results of internal and external program evaluations
To increase cultural diversity and inclusion in all program activities
Agency Commitment and Support
Mentors receive stipends for -
The time they spend mentoring protégés during their coursework
The time they spend continuing to mentor protégés who have completed their coursework
Their participation in training activities.
The average mentor stipend for the 1997-1998 year was $1,534.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
After completing a "Mentor Teacher" course, mentor candidates apply to a local Mentor Selection Committee.
A site review is conducted, including an evaluation based on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (Harms & Clifford, 1980). The program also uses the Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS), the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), and the School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS), depending on the age group with whom the mentor is working.
Mentor certification is for three years, after which mentors must reapply.
Protégé Identification and Selection
Most protégés are students.
Most protégés are enrolled in community college courses on early childhood education.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
The instructors of each community college course make mentor-student teacher protégé matches. Typical considerations include student interest, diversity issues, schedules, and geography.
The mentor/protégé ratio is one mentor to one or several protégés; the average ratio is 1 classroom mentor to 2.3 student teacher protégés.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor- Protégé Relationships
Frequency of mentor-protégé interaction depends on the requirements of the course the protégé is taking.
Mentoring ordinarily lasts the length of the practicum course (one or two semesters, depending on the college).
Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
Preservice and Orientation Training
"The Mentor Teacher" is a college course covering supervision skills and training in applying an objective, quality assessment tool to the classroom. (See Appendix F for an overview of the curriculum.)
The course is a prerequisite for mentor selection.
Follow-up Support
A two-day mentor retreat is offered each year. Topics include "How to Give an Effective Presentation," "Advocacy and Legislative Issues," and "Multicultural Storytelling."
Mentors are required to complete 24 hours of professional development each year.
Mentoring Strategies
Mentors model a variety of effective strategies in early childhood education, depending on the type of placement (child care, Head Start, etc.).
Other strategies (journals, portfolios, and so forth) depend on the course requirements of the community college.
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program
Formal Evaluation
A formal evaluation published by the National Center for the Early Childhood Workforce in 1995 found the following:
Both mentors and protégés were happy with the program.
Protégés in the mentoring program were rated by observers as less sensitive to children than were students in community college laboratory practicum placements, although both were rated better on several categories of teacher behavior than were the community comparisons.
Challenges
Growth! Eighteen community colleges were involved in 1992, and now 62 colleges
participate. Protégé placements have increased from 58 to 924 over a five-year
period. Rapid growth has created several challenges:
Ongoing Evaluation
Student teacher protégés evaluate mentors as part of their course evaluation. When mentors reapply for certification every three years, these evaluations are taken into account.
In an in-house evaluation system recently developed, all key players in the program (protégés, mentors, mentor selection committees, and program administrators) evaluate the other players with whom they have had contact.
An initial goal of the program was to reduce turnover among child care teachers. In the past year, turnover in mentors' classrooms was a relatively low 14.2 percent, compared to a national average of 31 percent in 1997 for child care teachers in general.
Key Characteristics
For further information, please contact -
California Early Childhood Mentoring
Mentor Program Coordinator
25555 Hesperian Boulevard
Hayward, CA 94545
(510) 786-6638
Community Action Program of Evansville (CAPE) Head Start
Program Background
CAPE Head Start's mentoring program has been in existence since 1997. At present, mentors and protégés are all Head Start employees. CAPE, however, hopes to make the program communitywide in the future. Ideally, it would partner with other early childhood service providers and together they would agree on release time and compensation for mentors and protégés. The mentoring committee would be composed of early childhood directors, community representatives, parent representatives, teacher representatives, and a member of the early childhood faculty from the local university.
Program Goals
To enable beginning teachers to grow professionally through coaching by a skilled professional
To retain experienced teachers in the field by offering them a chance to share their knowledge and skills and to move up a career ladder
To allow mentors to sharpen their communication and leadership skills, and to develop skills in training adults
To further professionalize the early childhood field
Agency Commitment and Support
During the first year, mentors and protégés were sent to the National Head Start Association Conference together.
Mentors and protégés are given money to spend on resources to support mentoring.
In the second year, CAPE made the Mentor Teacher position the top step on its five-step career ladder for teaching staff and paid each mentor a $500 stipend for participating in the program. The $500 stipend is paid once and does not become part of a mentor's regular salary.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
Mentor candidates must be currently employed teachers who meet one of the following criteria: they must possess (1) a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and five years' experience in an early childhood classroom; (2) an A.A. with three years' experience in an early childhood classroom; or (3) a B.A. in early childhood with at least one year's experience in an early childhood classroom. (NOTE: These qualifications were determined prior to the Head Start information memorandum requiring that at least 50 percent of the teachers must have an A.A. or B.A. degree by 2003.)
Mentor candidates must belong to a professional early childhood organization.
Mentor candidates must demonstrate an ability to present workshops and training for other staff.
Mentor candidates must demonstrate an understanding of how children learn and how to bring out the best in each child. They need to be committed to children and to helping others. They need to be active listeners, flexible, patient, professional, willing and able to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, dependable, able to see their own strengths and weaknesses, nonjudgmental, and able to laugh.
Selection Process
The candidates must submit a letter of interest that includes information on their educational background and describes the strengths they would bring to the program. They must also write an essay on why they want to be a mentor.
The candidates must provide references from a parent, a peer, and their director.
The candidates complete the NAEYC Early Childhood Observation Instrument and are evaluated with the same instrument by an impartial observer. They meet with the observer to discuss any discrepancies.
The candidates must be willing to undergo training at the college level.
Protégé Identification and Selection
In the first year, teachers applied to become protégés and were chosen by a selection committee. Most protégés were new teachers.
In the second year, teachers who were almost ready to become Lead Teachers were matched with mentors to help them learn the extra skills needed to become excellent Lead Teachers.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
All mentors and protégés fill out a survey. Matches are based on the type of program they are from (full day, double session, and so forth) and similar interests and temperaments.
Protégés are matched with mentors who are strong in the skills needed by the protégé.
The program has four mentors. The mentor/protégé ratio is one-to-one.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor- Protégé Relationships
Mentors and protégés meet daily.
Mentors and protégés work together in the same classroom.
The mentor-protégé relationship lasts for a full year. CAPE hopes to produce new, well-prepared Lead Teachers each year from the process. In some cases, relationships may continue for a second year.
Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
Preservice and Orientation Training
Mentors and protégé child development center directors participate in eight hours of training. The training is open to anyone, not only those individuals selected to be Mentor Teachers.
Mentors are trained with the help of two texts: The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum Trainer's Guide and The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum Handbook for Mentors.
Follow-up Support
The mentor, the protégé, and the child development specialist meet twice each month to discuss progress, successes, and concerns. The evaluation of the process is ongoing.
Mentors are encouraged to meet together to discuss their successes and concerns. The program is looking into arranging time for the protégés to meet as a support group.
Mentoring Content
Protégés' needs are identified by the Child Development Specialist's observation and evaluations from previous years.
Mentoring often focuses on behavior management and modification, individualizing for children, professionalism, and using developmentally appropriate practices.
Mentoring Strategies
Mentors observe protégés and later meet with protégés to provide feedback on what they observed.
During mentor-protégé meetings, goals are established so that protégés know what they are working toward.
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program
Strategies
The program has not been formally evaluated by an outside evaluator. However, the program uses an ongoing process evaluation to continually assess and improve its mentoring.
Currently, CAPE is using observation, conferencing, mentor networking, and the results of its onsite review to assess the mentor's performance. They also plan to use parent questionnaires, protégé questionnaires, and a formal self-evaluation.
Changes in the Program
Mentors receive a stipend. Prior to the process evaluation, mentors received no additional pay. They were compensated for their time with a trip to the National Head Start Association Conference. Protégés attended the conference with them.
Mentor Teacher became a step on the agency's five-step career ladder.
The mentor and protégé work together in the same classroom instead of in different classrooms and, in some cases, at different sites.
Mentors receive extra training and may be sent to workshops out of town.
Challenges
For further information, please contact -
Community Action Program of
Evansville (CAPE) Head Start
27 Pasco Avenue
Evansville, IN 47713
(812) 452-3133
The Greater Boston Early Childhood Mentoring Program Program
Program Background
Associated Day Care Services of Metropolitan Boston operates seven center-based, birth-to-five child care programs. Their mentoring program, which has been in operation for three years, is funded through a State Department of Education grant of approximately $66,500 that came through the Boston Community Partnership. Grant funds support training, substitutes, stipends, program administration, and equipment and supplies identified during the mentoring process that can help improve protégé performance.
Although protégé needs drive the mentoring process, the mentor is responsible for formalizing the areas on which the mentoring will focus. In addition to working with protégés, mentors share information about the areas on which the mentoring is focusing with the protégé's program director so that the director is brought into the loop.
Key Characteristics
Program Goals
To recognize experienced teachers and to give them an opportunity to move up the career ladder
To establish a pool of mentors for teachers in programs throughout the city to improve classroom quality and to facilitate program accreditation
Agency Commitment and Support
Mentors receive training at the beginning of the mentoring program, and follow-up support and training throughout their time as mentors.
The program provides mentors with a resource room where training videos, books, and other materials are kept to assist them throughout the mentoring process.
Mentors receive a stipend of $500. They are given release time to attend training seminars and to mentor two days of each month.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
Lead teachers are selected from NAEYC-accredited early child care programs throughout the Boston area.
A committee composed of representatives from the Boston Community Partnership selects mentors through a formal multistep process. Observers use a standardized observation tool to evaluate candidates. The next step is an application process that asks candidates for their professional background and years of experience; references; a narrative explaining why they are interested in becoming a mentor and the kinds of strengths they bring to the project; and responses to other interview questions.
The program uses a point system that attaches points to different aspects of the selection process. Particular weight is given to the candidates' observed behavior in interacting with children and to their classroom practices.
Protégé Identification and Selection
Protégés are new and experienced staff.
Protégés are from different programs throughout Boston.
Teachers volunteer to be protégés.
Supervisors recommend teachers for mentoring.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
Four criteria are used: (1) age of the children in the class, (2) geographical proximity, (3) cultural background and experience, and (4) strengths of the mentor and needs of the protégé.
The mentor/protégé ratio is one-to-one. In the first year, 12 mentors were trained; in the second year, 16; and in the third year, 13.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor-Protégé Relationships
Mentoring occurs over seven months.
Mentors conduct two full-day visits (every other week) each month at the protégé's site.
Offsite mentoring has several advantages for mentors:
It provides a learning experience for mentors, enabling them to meet with other teachers and gain an understanding of the issues that other programs face.
It provides a cross-cultural experience.
It enables mentors to give their full attention to the protégés and not be torn by the other responsibilities they have at their own program site.
Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
Preservice and Orientation Training
Mentor candidates receive training that is based on The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum (Bellm, Whitebook, & Hnatiuk, 1997).
Mentors receive two college credits for participation in a weeklong seminar.
The training focuses on five core areas of knowledge: adult development, reflection in education, respecting diversity, the change process, and leadership and advocacy. Skill areas that are tied into the core areas include communication, such as active listening and collaborative problem solving; modeling; observation, coaching, and reflective conferencing; giving and receiving feedback; conflict resolution; self-assessment and self-evaluation; and avoiding burnout.
Follow-up Support
Mentors attend three-hour monthly seminars at a central site (Associated Day Care Services) over the seven months of the mentoring relationship. The seminars occur during one of the days allocated for working with protégés.
Mentors receive two college credits and release time from their classroom responsibilities for participation. The seminars provide an opportunity for mentors to talk about issues they encounter during the mentoring process.
Protégés participate in four of the follow-up seminars: training on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale; understanding inclusion, diversity, differences in the early childhood setting; leadership and advocacy; and developing skills in working with children.
Mentoring Content
The focus of mentoring is determined through the results of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale or the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale.
Common topics include interactions between adults and children, age-appropriate curriculum development and implementation, setting up the appropriate physical environment, and developmentally appropriate practices.
Mentoring Strategies
Both the mentor and the protégé are trained on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale - Revised or the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale, as appropriate. The scale is used to assess the protégé's classroom and serves as a needs assessment for mutually planning the mentoring focus.
Mentors hold reflective conferences with protégés, helping them come to their own conclusions about what changes are needed.
Mentors observe their protégés and give them feedback.
Mentors model classroom techniques for their protégés.
Mentors provide their protégés with resources.
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program
Program directors, mentors, and protégés evaluate the mentoring process. One change in the program as a result of a previous evaluation was the hiring of substitutes to release mentors for a full day of mentoring.
Mentors and protégés complete a self-evaluation checklist that helps them identify how they have changed over the course of the mentoring relationship.
Challenge
Funding is insufficient.
For further information, please contact -
Associated Day Care Services of
Metropolitan Boston
95 Berkeley Street, Suite 306
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 695-0700
Homes Uniquely Giving Support
(H.U.G.S.)
Program Background
The Northwest Arkansas Family Child Care Association (NWAFCCA) services 100 homes in four counties in rural Arkansas. The Association has been involved in several mentoring programs, including a pilot program that focused on accreditation for family child care homes that was supported by the Levi-Strauss Corporation and Arkansas' Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education of the Department of Human Services. In-kind contributions were received from the University of Arkansas Family Child Care Project and the NWAFCCA. The pilot program has been followed by another mentoring program that guides family child care teachers through a self-study process for national accreditation or State quality approval and helps family child care teachers select equipment for child care enhancement grants.
Program Goals
To help family child care teachers become nationally accredited or receive State approval
To help family child care teachers access appropriate equipment and materials for their family child care homes
Key Characteristics
Agency Commitment and Support
Mentors receive follow-up support and training throughout their time as mentors.
Mentors have a stipend. The amount of the stipend depends on the level of grant funds.
The program is administered by the program administrator, who is employed by the NWAFCCA.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
Mentors must have achieved national accreditation, State approval, or a CDA credential in family child care within the four-county area covered by the grant.
There is no formal application process. Notices about the program are sent to accredited family child care teachers when new mentors are needed. A list of criteria for mentors is included. Those who qualify and are interested will self-select to participate in the program.
Protégé Identification and Selection
Family child care teachers volunteer to serve as protégés.
Family child care teachers are recruited for the program at general Association membership meetings and through a monthly newsletter, H.U.G.S. News and H.U.G.S. Briefs.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
Mentors are asked which family child care teachers they would like to mentor and which they would not want to mentor.
Special circumstances of mentors are taken into consideration, such as the availability of substitutes for the mentor's own home, geographic proximity, style of home (classroom or "homey" home), and ages of children.
The mentor/protégé ratio varies from one-to-one to one-to- four, depending on the availability of the mentor and the mentor's willingness to work with more than one protégé.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor-Protégé Relationships
The frequency of contact between the mentor and the protégé is based on the needs of the protégé.
Mentoring occurs at the protégé's site and at the mentor's site and also at monthly trainings.
Challenge
Both mentors and protégés may find it difficult to visit one another's homes
unless they have substitutes. If substitutes are unavailable onsite, visits
may have to be conducted after hours.
Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
Orientation and Preservice Training
Mentors attend an orientation where they learn more about the program and their responsibilities.
Additional training is provided through monthly support group meetings and telephone support from the administrator.
Follow-up Support
The NWAFCCA is responsible for follow-up support.
Monthly meetings are conducted.
Mentoring Content
The program administrator conducts a needs assessment for all protégés to determine the areas on which the mentoring should focus.
The information from the needs assessment is shared with the mentors. Topics vary from protégé to protégé.
Mentoring Strategies
Protégés are observed in their homes. Feedback includes mock observations conducted by trained observers.
Mentors model new techniques for their protégés.
Mentors and protégés maintain telephone contact.
For further information, please contact -
Northwest Arkansas Family
Child Care Association
12518 Paige Lane
Farmington, AR 72730
(501) 267-2212
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program The mentoring program is evaluated at the end of the grant period through a written evaluation by the protégé and the mentor.
Macon Program for Progress New Horizons Training Center
Program Background
The New Horizons Training Center is a training facility for Early Head Start program staff and part of the Macon Program for Progress. The mentoring program, which began in April 1997, is funded through Smart Start, the North Carolina governor's initiative to bring resources to local groups to enhance the well-being of children and families. Funding in the first year was approximately $60,000. In the initial year the program had 10 mentors and 60 protégés. In the second year, there were 30 protégés.
Program Goals
To enhance the quality of care for infants and toddlers
To reduce staff attrition by providing support for teachers and other early childhood staff
Key Characteristics
Agency Commitment and Support
Types of Support
Mentors gain recognition and receive a stipend that is based on their level of education and the amount of time they spend mentoring.
Mentors gain credit hours toward the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential for which they are working.
Mentors are given release time.
Training and follow-up support are provided.
Protégés receive a mentoring gift valued at $350 that includes toys and curricula with suggested ways of using the materials. A manual describes the kinds of activities that can be implemented with children from infancy to three years of age.
Protégés also receive $100 to order literacy-related books from specified catalogs.
Grant funds cover such costs as stipends, substitutes, travel and per diem allowances, support staff, and the Center's master teacher's preparation time.
Integration Within the Staff Development Program
The issues identified after the evaluation of mentor training have been incorporated into Region IV training.
The topics for more general training that have come out of mentoring include reframing discipline, designing and implementing curricula that are age-appropriate, and understanding the value of groups and helping children decide when to participate.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
Mentors all come from the New Horizons Training Center facility.
Potential candidates are identified and selected by a committee comprising the Director of Head Start, the Education Coordinators for birth to three and three to five, and the Regional Training Coordinator, all of whom are familiar with the teaching staff and know the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. The skills that the committee sees as most important are the ability to communicate and interact with children and adults.
Participation as a mentor is voluntary, and there is no formal application process. Notices are sent to accredited providers when new mentors are needed. A list of criteria for mentors is included. Those who qualify and are interested will self- select to attend the training.
Protégé Identification and Selection
Protégés volunteer or are selected by a supervisor to participate in the mentoring to build skills.
Flyers with information about the mentoring program are distributed by New Horizons to early childhood programs throughout the seven counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee in the region. The objective is to have protégés from every part of the service area.
Protégés complete an application that identifies the areas in which they would like to be mentored.
Mentoring is targeted to both new and experienced teachers.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
Protégés are matched with mentors on the basis of areas of similarity, such as age, gender, culture, race, language, teaching and learning styles, and age group of children and the content area on which the protégé needs to focus.
Geographical proximity is not an issue because the mentoring takes place at the New Horizons Training Center site either through face-to-face contact or through distance learning. The Training Center is near the mentor's classroom.
Each mentor is responsible for six protégés, but the program staggers the times that protégés visit the mentor's classroom.
Mentors work with two protégés in each session of mentoring over three different months.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor- Protégé Relationships
The mentoring site is the Training Center facility. The facility is linked to other programs through two-way audio- visual technology that allows for real-time interactions. The facility classrooms are equipped with ceiling microphones and a camera that can zoom in on various activities. Four or five sites can view the facility classroom at one time. To view the mentor's classroom, protégés can go to an Information Highway or Community Link site within their county. Protégés from various sites see live demonstrations of particular practices in the infant/toddler classroom. After the observations, mentors and protégés reflect and discuss what the protégés observed and the rationale for implementing certain practices. Protégés can request distance learning at any time so that the mentoring is ongoing.
Protégés visit the facility for a full day at the start of the mentoring process to meet with their mentor and observe classroom set-ups and mentor-child interactions. In addition to in-class observations, individual classrooms have observation windows that allow protégés to see classroom interactions without being disruptive.
Protégés visit at other times when it is convenient for them to travel. Travel, however, is reduced through the use of technology.
Most of the communication between mentors and protégés occurs through technology and through telephone contact.
The length of time that protégés are mentored varies, depending on the needs of the protégés and the relationship built between protégés and mentors.
The challenge of the mentor-protégé relationship is to build a trusting relationship without any supervisory connotations.
Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
Preservice and Orientation Training
Mentors receive training in using the Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum (Bellm, Whitebook & Hnatiuk, 1997).
The training director and the master teacher participate in national training on the Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum before conducting the training.
Initial training occurs over a three-day period, with mentors spending three to four hours each day in training.
Training topics include effective communication, guidance skills, reflective practice, leadership skills, and adult education. Opportunities are provided for open-ended feedback.
Substitutes are provided for the mentors' and protégés' classrooms from a pool of previously selected substitutes who have been approved by the policy council board.
Follow-up Support
The training director serves as a "mentor to the mentors," providing feedback on the mentors' performance and addressing concerns of the mentor. The observation windows within each classroom allow the training director to unobtrusively observe the mentor at any time.
Mentors also audiotape their classrooms to allow them to reflect on their behavior and practices in the classroom.
Support is ongoing.
Mentoring Content
Protégés identify on their application form the specific areas of concern in which they would like to be mentored.
The protégé's supervisor may make recommendations of areas for mentoring.
The content of mentoring is individualized to the protégé.
Some topics have included designing and implementing age- appropriate curriculum, behavior management, and stages and ages of child development. The latter topic is a focus for teachers who have moved from infants to toddlers or vice versa, or who are new to these age groups.
In general, content focuses on applying theory to practice and on understanding what it means to be a professional.
Mentoring Strategies
A variety of mentoring strategies are used.
Mentors model effective practices for protégés. Protégés can discuss these practices one-on-one with the mentor during children's naptime.
Protégés are encouraged to take notes and to keep a journal that includes questions for the mentor.
Videotaping of protégés and mentors is used as a basis for reflection and discussion.
Challenges
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program
Mentor performance is assessed through observations of mentors' classrooms. The classrooms' special observation windows and the presence of the mentor trainer on site make it easy to observe the mentors.
An informal evaluation was conducted as part of the overall Smart Start evaluation. As a result of the observation, the revised Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale is used in all classrooms.
For further information, please contact -
Macon Program for Progress
New Horizons Training Center
Box 700
Franklin, NC 28734
(828) 349-4291
Fax: (828) 524-0823
Washington, D.C., Public Schools
Head Start Programs
Program Background
The Washington, D.C., Public Schools Head Start Programs' mentoring system grew out of the need to increase opportunities for collegial growth and support for teachers. Previously, the program relied on resource teachers to perform roles similar to that of the mentor. Teachers needing help would use the resource teachers to gain the necessary assistance. As the program's funding increased, the program created full-time positions for mentors to be paired with a supervisor. The mentors may mentor any individuals who work under this supervisor. There are four mentors, and each supervisor is responsible for 14 to 20 classrooms.
Key Characteristics
Program Goals
To improve the quality of teaching and the quality of the learning environment in the classroom
To increase the amount of individual support that teachers receive from education staff
Agency Commitment and Support
The mentors receive a stipend for mentoring, but it is no more than they would receive as Head Start teachers with 12 or more years of experience.
Mentors meet with one another on a weekly basis to discuss what's working well for them and what's not in terms of their relationship with their protégés.
Mentors work closely with the supervisors with whom they are paired.
Funding for the mentoring program comes from the Head Start grant funds.
Program Structure
Mentor Identification and Selection
Mentors must possess a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and have additional course work. They must have 5 years of classroom experience (currently all mentors have 12 or more years of experience), demonstrate an interest in mentoring, and have previously received a rating as an outstanding teacher.
Mentors should be knowledgeable in the theory and practice of early childhood education; possess good communication skills; recognize that although they have been selected as mentors they may not know all the answers; and be willing to take the time to develop strong relationships with teachers that foster reflection.
Mentors are either identified by the program director or self- selected. However, they must meet the criteria above and be interviewed.
Protégé Identification and Selection
Protégés are classroom teachers and family child care staff.
Protégés either are identified by the supervisor or request a mentor for assistance in a specific area.
Matching Mentors with Protégés
Mentors are paired with a supervisor and are assigned to the individuals who work under that supervisor. Mentoring occurs on a supervisor's recommendation or when an individual requests assistance.
The mentor/protégé ratio varies. About 60 percent of the time, mentors work with seven protégés. However, they may work with more protégés if the need arises.
Length, Frequency, and Duration of Mentor-Protégé Relationships
Each mentor-protégé relationship is unique; the mentors spend a different amount of time with each protégé, depending on the protégé's needs. New staff members may require more time than more experienced staff members, who may seek out the mentor for assistance only once.
Sometimes mentors will have protégés observe more experienced teachers working in a particular area in which the protégé needs assistance.
Protégés can observe several teachers.
Mentor Training
The program does not provide any formal training for the mentors.
The program relies on the mentor's experience and attendance at workshops.
Mentoring Content
The specific needs of the protégé determine the content.
Either the protégé or the supervisor can identify the content.
Challenges
Mentoring Strategies
Mentors use a combination of strategies that include demonstrations, observations, modeling, and peer coaching.
Mentors "roll up their sleeves" and work in the protégé's classroom.
Evaluation of the Mentoring Program
The program has not been formally evaluated.
Mentors give the Head Start Director a list of objectives that the mentors want to accomplish during the year. At the end of the year they are evaluated on their success in meeting these objectives.
For further information, please contact -
D.C. Public Schools Head Start Programs
Far S.E. Career Development Center
1200 12th Place, S.E.
Washington, DC 20020
(202) 698-1033
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