Identify the part(s) of your plan you were able to implement (given the nature of leadership work, your project may actually continue beyond submission of your Capstone Portfolio).
I created a mentorship portfolio and program for newly hired elementary general music teachers that will initially be implemented during the 2024-2025 school year and continue in future years. The mentorship portfolio is a website that will be shared electronically with elementary general music teachers upon being hired by the district. The mentorship program will pair a mentor teacher with the newly hired elementary general music teacher (mentee) for at least one year with the option of continuing beyond that. The mentorship program clearly specifies the responsibilities of the mentor while allowing the mentee to determine the scope and depth of the mentorship.
How successful was your action plan at addressing the challenge?
My action plan was very successful at addressing the challenge of creating a mentorship portfolio and program for newly hired elementary general music teachers to my school district. The portfolio welcomes the new teacher, invites them to join the Google Classroom for the elementary general music teachers, provides a list of names and contact information for the district's current elementary general music teachers, shares suggested websites to bookmark, and also provides links to a variety of helpful resources (i.e., sample guest teacher lesson plans, logistical suggestions for elementary student performances, questions to ask the principal, secretary, etc., at their schools). The entire portfolio is simply shared through a link and may easily be updated or added to as needed in the future.
The program clearly outlines the expectations (i.e., length of mentorship, number of meetings between the mentor and mentee, what should be discussed and demonstrated at each meeting and compensation for the mentor). Making the two-way observations optional between the mentor and mentee provides flexibility and allows the mentee to decide whether they feel the observations will be valuable to them at this point in their teaching career. However, if the mentee does choose to do the observations, the mentorship program provides clear guidelines on the number of observations, how they will work and how the guest teachers will be requested and compensated.
Which stakeholders and association practice or program were impacted? How do you know (site evidence)?
Several stakeholders will be impacted by the creation of the mentorship portfolio and program. Newly hired elementary general music teachers will now receive the guidance they deserve and desire as they begin their teaching career in a new district where they're expected to teach hundreds of students at multiple schools. If interested, current elementary general music teachers will be provided the opportunity to serve as a mentor and share their expertise while positively impacting student success. The fine arts education coordinator will not be expected to provide their current level of guidance to newly hired elementary general music teachers since the mentors will be taking on a lot of what they have been expected to try to do in the past.
How were your four chosen competencies used in the implementation of your project?
Overarching Competency #1: Personal Effectiveness - By choosing to create a mentorship portfolio and program for elementary general music teachers, I combined my organizational strengths with my passion to improve teacher recruitment and retention. While ethically gathering input from various stakeholders, I worked closely with colleagues and my supervisor to listen to their diverse ideas and opinions in order to create a product that was well though out.
Overarching Competency #2: Adult Learning - Throughout the creation of the mentorship portfolio and program, I highly valued the expertise of my colleagues as they shared what would have been helpful to know and experience when they were new teachers or new to the district. Within the mentorship program, there is a wide variety of learning styles addressed to aid the mentee, including individual learning through reading and research, one-on-one meetings with a mentor teacher for discussion and demonstration, and two-way observations where mentees may witness the mentor teaching but also receive feedback on their own teaching. By pairing a mentee with a mentor, the mentor's expertise will be valued and the mentorship program will have a direct impact on the success of the mentee's students.
Foundational Competency: Explore and Challenge Diversity - The inequity of years of teaching experience is challenged through the implementation of the mentorship portfolio and program. New teachers are no longer expected to figure everything out on their own but instead will be provided the necessary resources and guidance to immediately feel effective as a teacher and improve student success.
Specific Leadership Pathway Competency: Instructional Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring - The mentor assigned to each newly hired elementary general music teacher will be fostering the development of their mentee while valuing the skills and abilities that the mentee currently possesses. Through the use of questioning and reflection, the mentor will guide the mentee to make their own professional decisions while promoting an environment of trust and respect.
What obstacles, if any, did you encounter? How did you address them?
Before the actual mentorship portfolio and program could be created, the district's current elementary general music curriculum desperately needed to be revised - both condensed to make it more manageable to teach within the time restraints on music instruction in the district and revised to ensure consistency between grade levels. Knowing that this task was too immense for me to achieve on my own, a group of elementary general music teachers (including myself) banded together to accomplish this through several meetings outside of contractual hours. The revised curriculum was then presented to the entire PLC of elementary general music teachers for further discussion, revision and approval.
Following my initial data collection concerning what should be included within the mentorship portfolio and program, it was evident that the scope of information was expansive. In order to include all the suggested information without having to write it all out, the non-tenured teacher who I interviewed for one of my empathy interviews suggested that a lot of the information be presented to the mentee through efficient discussion and demonstration during regularly scheduled face-to-face meetings with their mentor.
Through my data collection, I knew that a large majority of stakeholders felt the mentor should be compensated. However, I also knew my district doesn't allocate much funding for fine arts. To find a funding source, I visited with the fine arts coordinator during another one of my empathy interviews to discuss the possibility of using funds raised through an annual auction and concert fundraiser for the fine arts department to pay for not only a small stipend for the mentor but also guest teachers for the two-way observations between the mentor and mentee if the building principals decline to pay for the guest teachers.
Given the outcomes, describe any changes you might make to the Capstone Project’s action plan.
I am very pleased with the finished mentorship portfolio and program. Although I have reached out to my elementary general music colleagues and the district fine arts director requesting feedback on the product, I have not yet heard anything due to the summer break from school. However, I am excited to receive their feedback along with ongoing feedback from the mentors and mentees in order to continue to revise and improve the mentorship portfolio and program. Depending upon its success, perhaps it can be adopted for use within other elementary specialist content areas (e.g., art teachers, librarians, physical education).
Artifact #10: Mentorship Portfolio
Artifact #11: Mentorship Program