Mentor Update 5 -
October 23, 2023
Dates of Interest
Friday, October 27, 2023 - Two-Hour Early Dismissal - Professional Responsibilities, End of Marking Period 1
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 - Marking Period 1 Mentor Logs Due - All data from MP1 submitted in Individual and Team Logs (see below)
Friday, November 10, 2023 - Veteran's Day Observed - All Schools and Offices Closed
To subscribe to the Induction Program Google Calendar, visit the Induction Site Home Page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the blue box a the base of the calendar.
End of Marking Period 1 Considerations
Those of you mentoring teachers who participate in the Monthly Induction Seminars, please note that there will not be a seminar on November 1st. Instead, participants will be returning to their Demonstration Classrooms for a small group visit sometime in November. The dates can be found in the Induction Program Google Calendar. Please be sure to check in with your mentees to follow up on their individualized discussions.
Also, please remember to support your mentees during the report card window as it approaches. I do not need to tell my elementary mentors that SBRCs can be a challenge. Those completing them for the first time will need additional support, so please allow time for that during your mentor meetings. Secondary teachers will want to ensure that their mentees have enough assignments and consistency in their assignment values to allow for grades that accurately depict the progress of their students. At both levels, I would recommend time spent during mentor meetings digging into grade books to discuss their grading and data collection practices.
If you have not already completed your first marking period walkthrough, please be sure to schedule it soon! If you need assistance, please let me know.
Have a wonderful week! And remember . . . You've Got This!
Heather
Remember that I support the needs of mentors just as much as the needs of the non-tenured teachers! Email if you need anything! hlhusk@smcps.org
Marking Period 1 Mentor Logs - Due October 31st
Please be sure that all of the Marking Period 1 individual and team mentor logs are submitted by Tuesday, October 31, 2023. The information will be gathered and a report will be sent to all mentor teams and school administrators in the coming weeks. An email will be sent to all mentor team members on Monday, October 30, 2023, with the list of weeks each member has already submitted.
The weeks for submissions should include August 21 and 28, September 4, 11, 18, and 25, and October 2, 9, 16, and 23. Those of you who did not begin mentoring at the start of the school year will not have all of these weeks.
Articles of Interest
As you plan your time with your mentee, consider using these resources.
Collaboration of Mentor Teams: PLC Coaching: 12 Ways to Achieve Effective Results by Donna Spangler, Smart Brief
Highlights:
Identifying activities with PLC coaching
Learning activities with PLC coaching
Improve activities with PLC coaching
Note from Heather: While this article focuses on PLCs, there is much that translates into mentor team meetings because they should function as a PLC.
Classroom Management for New Teachers: Simplifying Classroom Management for New Teachers by Daniel Leonard, Edutopia
Highlights:
Setting the Tone from the Outset
Navigating Distraction
Avoid Rule Overload
Recurring Items - For Reference
Mentor Discussion Topics - October
Topics that are discussed between mentors and mentees during individual and team meetings can vary depending on the needs of the non-tenured teachers. Non-tenured teachers are encouraged to direct their mentoring experience to their specific needs. However, mentors also want to be prepared to support their mentees. The list of topics and possible questions is intended to ensure that the mentees are focusing on upcoming and present needs in addition to those that are self-identified. This list is not the limit of possible discussions. In addition, please visit the October Seminar Page for the professional development topics and presentation materials including SBRC Guidance, Providing Effective Feedback to Students, and Schoology/TAC Passback.
Mentors - If you have additional topics that you encounter this month, please share them in the Mentoring Schoology Group.
Short Range Planning
How are daily and weekly lesson planning working?
Are you able to access and use the content sites to guide instruction and pacing?
Secondary
Have you considered the student workload across courses?
Have you reviewed your Schoology grade book for Process, Product, and assignment weights and distribution?
Differentiated Learning
How have you been able to use differentiated groups in the classroom?
How have you been able to differentiate assignments?
Elementary
How do you plan to implement learning centers? Are you able to do so? What are some ideas?
Parent Conferences
Be sure that you know where and when the conference occurs. Who schedules the conferences? Who needs to attend?
Consider why the conference is being held prior to the day. Who initiated it? What is the purpose - academic, behavioral concerns, etc.?
Tips:
Always start with a positive comment and avoid following it with "but . . ."
Make sure that you have updated data when the conference occurs
Have student work samples to illustrate concerns or show growth
Always end the conference by summarizing the next steps for you, the student, and the parent
Standards-Based Report Cards (Elementary)
Marking Period 1 ends on Friday, October 27th
Do you have the data necessary for completing the SBRCs for marking period 1?
Have you talked with your mentor or PLC about preparing the required narratives?
Marking Period 1 Report Cards (Secondary)
Marking Period 1 ends on Friday, October 27th
Are TAC and Schoology Passback aligned?
Have you talked with your mentor or PLC about how to submit grades?
SLO/TPAS/Observation
Have you reviewed the TPAS evaluation rubric?
Have you accessed Perform to submit your SLO?
Have you reviewed your SLO with a peer?
Walkthroughs
Did you participate in a walkthrough this marking period?
Was there a pre and post-walkthrough conversation?
Did you determine a focus for the walkthrough?
Schoology
How are you using Schoology to communicate with parents and students?
Have you explored the Schoology calendar settings?
Do you have your email notifications set to your needs?
Mentoring Expectations
A comprehensive list of mentor expectations can be found on the Mentor Teacher Resources tab of the Induction Site.
Highlights of expectations:
Meet with each mentee for approximately 40 minutes each week. (Some meetings can include combined mentees, but individual times should be included.)
Participating in (at least) monthly mentor team meetings.
Mentors should collaborate to plan the topics and host the mentor team meetings.
If a mentee in your building is being mentored by a specialist teacher outside of your building, the mentor team should be sure to include the mentee in team meetings and school-specific initiatives that would not be known by an outside mentor.
Mentors working with mentees outside of their building are not responsible for attending mentor team meetings outside of their building.
Completion of weekly mentor logs. (Logs will be sent to mentor teams sometime this week and the links will be posted on the Mentor Log tab of the Induction Site.
Completion of Quarterly Instructional Walkthroughs with each mentee. Walkthroughs are brief, planned visits to classrooms with pre/post discussions. Substitute coverage is available. Details about walkthroughs and substitute coverage are available on the Mentor Resources tab of the Induction Site.
Attendance at two mentor training sessions for additional pay at the negotiated agreement rate of $40 an hour. The Fall training session will be in person in the BOE Meeting Room at the Moakley Offices at 4:30 PM on September 21, 2023. (A calendar invitation to follow.) The January session will be virtual with a date TBD.
Mentor Schoology Group
Based on mentor feedback from last year, a Schoology Group for Mentors has been created. Mentors have been manually added to the group. If you have not been included, please contact Heather Husk at hlhusk@smcps.org. All group members have permissions to upload resources and discussions to collaborate and share. If you are a Lead Mentor, please share your team meeting agendas to provide ideas to other teams!
I hope that is resource is useful to mentors as they work to support their mentees.
