Year At a Glance 

August - Mentee:

• Attend New Staff Academy and Pre-Service Week Professional Learning opportunities

• Meet your building Administrator(s) and tour your school. Learn about work spaces, accessing supplies, etc.

• Begin to set up your learning space and meet colleagues, include Para Professionals, Office Staff, Custodians, etc.

• Obtain necessary technology and practice projecting in your classroom. Set up email and telephone passwords and messaging (email signature, voicemail greeting).

• Locate curricular resources and other teaching materials.

• Learn about students via Synergy and other available documentation. Learn about initial family communication expectation for your building.

• Begin to collaborate with colleagues and Mentor to plan for the first days with students, focusing on building an engaging classroom community. 

• Learn about support personnel within the building (for example, Counselors, School Psychologist, etc).

• Establish a system for documenting lesson/unit plans.

• Learn how to take attendance.

August - Mentor:

• Establish caseload.

• Initial connection with mentees. Possibly utilize "Getting to Know You" tool.

• Reach out to second year mentees and confirm participation.

  • Commitment form

  • Gather mentee personal information and treat preferences

• Welcome new mentees and share about the role/process of Mentoring

• Offer support in setting up learning spaces, establishing systems/routines and planning for the first days with students. Consider focusing on community building, sharing expectations and establishing systems and routines.

• Debrief New Staff Academy

• Establish dates for future professional learning opportunities

September - Mentee:

• Continue to foster the classroom community, reinforce expectations and revise/build necessary systems and routines (bathroom procedures, supply organization, transitions, asking for students' attention, etc.)

• Continue to update seating charts as student needs are learned

• Establish routine for communication ith families

• Access district provided curricular resources/student learning targets to continue to plan for instruction.

• Learn how to report a teacher absence and build an Emergency Substitute Folder with class roster(s), daily schedules, general learning engagements, etc.).

• Prepare for Curriculum/Back to School Night. Inquire within the building to learn about common practices and expectations for the event.

• Set up a system for collecting and documenting assessment and other student data.

• Learn about expectations and timelines for grading and reporting.

• Be prepared for emergency drills: Fire, Earthquake, etc.

September - Mentor 

• Establish weekly meetings and share about various meeting styles.

• Nurture reflective practice through self-assessment conversations, always building on strengths.

• Continue to plan for Fall Summit.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Focusing on student strengths and using asset based language. Support teacher in learning about their students to better understand how to differentiate instruction.

  • Classroom management strategies.

  • Navigation of curricular resources.

• Make an initial class visit to see the students in action.

• Observe the mentee and provide feedback on something the teacher has requested.

• Share about family communication methods (ParentSquare, newsletters, email)

• Check in about navigating district systems: leave classifications (sick/personal), absence management, pay stubs and tuition reimbursement

October - Mentee:

• Prepare for Conferences (understand purpose, family communication, scheduling gathering resources, including student voice, facilitating the discussion, etc.).

• Use Administrator guidance to complete the Teacher Evaluation System self-assessment and goal setting process. (PIVOT)

• Learn about policies and practices around holidays and celebrations.

• Identify any gaps with accessibility to curricular or technology resources.

• Better understand roles and support available from building specialists such as: Student Success Coach, Behavioral Health and Wellness Team, School Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech Language Pathologist, Para Professionals, etc.).

• Connect with colleagues and/or office staff to learn about the processes and procedures for ordering or requesting school or classroom supplies.

• Attend Fall Summit

• Ensure grading is up to date- secondary nine week grades due

• Continue to plan and implement engaging student learning experiences.

October - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. 

• Consider a classroom visit.  This could be tied to a particular need of the mentee or an opportunity to meet the class and students.

• Support with any teacher evaluation process needs.

• Inquire about any gaps with accessibility to curricular or technology resources.

• Consider additional Professional Learning opportunities and utilize KickUp.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Students of concern.

  • Engaging students with learning.

  • Providing feedback to students.

  • Supporting students with differing needs.

• Follow up with ideas from the Fall Summit

• Support with planning for conferences

• Start planning field visits

November - Mentee:

• Continue to foster classroom community and student relationships through intentional practices and planning.

• Collaborate with colleagues and mentor on planning and assessment practices. Consider what is going well and opportunities for growth.

• Reflect on any systems, routines, habits, etc. that may benefit from revision. Work with Mentor on how to ntentionally plan for a reset after extended breaks.

• Review procedures for Inclement weather closures or delays.

• Attend and reflect on field visits.

November - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Work/Life balance and stress management strategies.

  • Formative assessment.

  • Capitalizing on how natural breaks offer opportunities for classroom resets.

  • Strategically plan for schedule interruptions or extended breaks

• Consider a class visit tied to mentee or student needs.

• Continue planning and facilitating field visits. Utilize reflection and plan future support.

• Continue to support growth with PGG through class visits

• Revisit “Phases of a First Year Teacher”

December - Mentee:

• Begin to look ahead to the end of the grading period. Review the Progress Report/Report Card to better plan for student opportunities to show proficiency.

• Review holiday and celebration policies and practices.

• Look into planning for returning from the extended break. 

  • Consider how carrying over learning can benefit a smoother re-entry.

  • Consider preparing materials for the first few days of learning.

• Apply learning or new strategies from field visits.

December - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Plans to rest and recharge over break.

  • Accountable student talk.

  • Supporting students with differing needs.

• Reflect with mentee to identify areas in which they have made growth and progress as well as an area of challenge. 

• Reflect on grading practices and ensure that all targets deemed necessary have assessments are planned

• Ensure that mentees have knowledge of the report card

January - Mentee:

• Consider how to revisit expectations, systems and routines as students return from extended breaks.

• Check in with colleagues regarding any testing requirements for the grade level/content. Learn more about the building culture and approach around standardized testing.

January - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• Begin initial planning for New Staff Academy.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Trying new instructional strategies

  • Continuing to establish work/life balance

  • Approaching the end of the grading period

February - Mentee:

• Review teacher contract and job posting timelines. As a temporary employee, the contract will be completed in June, however application and resume updates can be uploaded throughout the year.

• Reflect on progress toward Professional and Student Growth Goals.

February - Mentor:

• See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• Continue planning for New Staff Academy.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Differentiation strategies

  • Use of rubrics/checklists/student self-assessment tools

  • Family communication

March - Mentee:

• Look ahead to the next cycle of report cards and family conferences. Consider opportunities to gather sufficient evidence of student proficiency.

• Review documentation of specialized learning needs (IEP, 504, TAG, Health Plans).

• Inquire about deadlines regarding purchasing for the school year.

March - Mentor:

• See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• Continue planning for New Staff Academy.

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Plans for returning from extended breaks with intention and purpose

  • Refreshing instructional strategies, ensuring that they are student centered

  • Continuing to invest in classroom community building

April - Mentee:

• Document the scheduling of any standardized testing that may occur throughout the remainder of the year.

• Grading and reporting 

April - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. 

• Continue planning for New Staff Academy.

• Plan for end of year Mentor Program celebration

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • administrator observations

  • revisit classroom management and structure 

  • preparing for testing (state, AP/IB, standardized tests)

May - Mentee:

• Learn about "End of Year" tasks and expectations in order to be equipped to provide adequate information and input.

• Follow building expectations regarding Professional Growth Plan.

• Facilitate transition plans for students (Fly-Ups, Class Lists, Kinder Round Up)

• Determine and plan for final assessments

  • communicating with families

  • calendaring to instruct on learning targets that still need to be addressed

  • gathering student work samples

• Consider gathering feedback from students or families

May - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with mentee weekly. See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• Continue planning for New Staff Academy.

• Schedule final class visits

• Develop End of Year Mentee Survey to elicit feedback for the program

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • grading and reporting

  • organizational tools

  • management strategies that may extend into the final weeks of school

  • maintaining academic rigor through the remainder of the year

June - Mentee:

• Determine deadlines for late work/ repeat opportunities (consider Seniors last day)

• Plan for end of year celebrations and activities

• Gather students work samples or take photos of anchor charts and materials that you may want to use in the future

• Create a calendar of special events (assemblies, celebrations, field trips, field day)

• Make a plan to send home student work and materials

• Make a plan for completing report cards

• Organize curriculum resources in preparation for next year

• End of year check out and classroom clean up

• Take a moment to celebrate your growth this year

June - Mentor:

• Continue to meet with weekly meetings with mentee. See previous months' suggestions to guide discussions and points of support.

• Facilitate end of year Mentor Celebration 

• Facilitate end of year reflection using mentor tools

• Send survey to gather Mentor Program feedback

• Talk to first year teachers about second year of mentoring

• Continue with plans and preparation for New Staff Academy

• While conversations should be teacher-driven, listen for entry points regarding:

  • Balancing academic work with end of year celebrations

  • Zones of Comfort

  • Continued opportunities for groth and professional learning