2.1 Mentors’ views of factors essential for the success of beginning  (Page 8/11)

Mentor teacher responses to open-ended

When asked to respond to the following statement,“My school has been most supportive of me this year in the following areas”, mentor teachers gave the following answers:

I was given the time needed to evaluate the new teacher.

The new teacher was assigned fewer students in the classroom with fewer responsibilities.

I was selected to be a mentor based on proximity, class subject, and given time to spend with the new teacher.

I was given a schedule that allowed the new teacher to have the same conference period to work together on planning and to provide the needed support for the new teacher.

I was given the time to observe and give feedback to the new teacher.

We had excellent communication between the mentor, mentee and administrator to work on issues and find solutions.

I was given praise and appreciation for what I did as a mentor.

According to mentors, their school was most supportive in giving them time to evaluate the new teacher. Mentors reported they were selected to the program based on criteria of proximity, class subject and allowed time to visit with the new teacher. Mentors also felt appreciated for the work they provided to new teachers. They had excellent communications with the new teacher, and administrators to work on issues and finding solutions.

Concerning the question,“What has been the most difficult part of your duty in the teacher-mentoring program?”, mentor teachers responded that:

Conflicting schedules with mentee, and administrators providing information on how I would be compensated.

At times I felt little support from my administrator since they were more concerned about TAKS scores.

I was not given any guidelines or training for what I was to do or what was expected of me.

I was given too much paperwork on the program and was provided staff development for the mentor and mentee that was not beneficial.

Mentors commented that the most difficult duty of the teacher-mentoring program was conflicting schedules between the mentor and the mentee. It made meeting time difficult for both. Mentors stated that they did not know how they would be compensated for their time and felt little support from administrators because they were more concerned with TAKS scores. Other mentors also reported they were not given guidelines, training, or expectations of what the program was about.

Regarding the question,“In what areas would you have appreciated more support from your school for the teacher-mentoring program?”, mentors commented:

More scheduled formal meetings with new teacher to review classroom management, grading polices and procedures, and time for planning lessons would have been appreciated.

Increase in benefits for the mentor and better coordination for planning from the certification program would have helped.

More instruction on curriculum alignment, observation time to evaluate the new teacher, and more time for the new teacher to observe the mentor were needed.

Communication between mentor, mentee, and administrators needed to occur.