Responsibility to the School Community:
Mentorship
Educators have a responsibility to uphold professional standards, regardless of our other relationships with colleagues. Extra diligence is sometimes required to ensure fidelity in the process.
In the case study above there are possible issues/concerns that could be raised by the school community:
The mentor is accepting the stipend for work not completed
The mentee is not getting the support they need
They use district funding for a conference, but they don’t attend most sessions
The principal does not verify that the work is being completed
Potentially, word could spread and others could decide to skip the program, the mentee may not serve students as well as she could have with proper mentoring, and the mentor and principal could be subject to an ethics complaint and a possible licensure sanction.
MCEE gives guidance for similar situations:
Collaborating with colleagues in a manner that supports academic achievement and related goals that promote the best interests of students;
Enhancing the professional growth and development of new educators by supporting effective field experiences, mentoring or induction activities across the career continuum;
Ensuring that educators who are assigned to participate as mentors for new educators, cooperating teachers, or other teacher leadership positions are prepared and supervised to assume these roles;
Considering the risks that multiple relationships might impair objectivity and increase the likelihood of harm to students’ learning and well-being or diminish educator effectiveness;