MCCE
 

 

2007 ACTE Presentation:  Missouri's career education mentoring program -- why we do it, how it works, and how we measure program success.

Reimbursal Fact Sheets:  >>Year One    >>Year Two

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Career Education Division, offers new and returning teachers and counselors an excellent opportunity to become informed of specific strategies and information related to the content area in which they work.

Why mentor new teachers?
What financial benefits does mentoring offer?

To meet the need to retain quality teachers, the Missouri Division of Career Education implemented a mentoring program in 2003. This program meets the requirements set forth in the recently revised Educator Certification Requirements. The former three-tiered renewal process is now two renewal requirements, one of which is participation in a mentoring program for the minimum of two years.

The Career Education Statewide Mentoring Program for New and Returning Teachers and Counselors offers an efficient and effective partnership with the local district's induction activities, emphasizing content-specific pedagogy.

By establishing teacher support systems that welcome newcomers to the profession and help them succeed, the intended impact of the Career Education Statewide Mentoring Program is to improve instructional effectiveness within the teacher's content area. Many local mentoring programs, designed and established at the district level, are orientations to school operations, rules, and guidelines. The culture of the school, the district, and the community are also touched upon, but in-depth training in content-specific instructional practices, student discipline and classroom management is limited.

Each protege has a master teacher assigned as a mentor.

The Career Education Statewide Mentoring Program's content and delivery structures are guided by national and state standards. New and returning teachers and counselors are identified through the efforts of school district personnel, teacher educators, other teachers, and new teacher workshops. Under the leadership of trained mentors with content-specific professional backgrounds, the first year of the program focuses on requirement for MSIP and meeting career education standards for approved programs. The second year of the program contains a variety of experiences related to improving instructional delivery and professionalism.

A school administration committed to the Career Education Statewide Mentoring Program understands the value of mentoring and its potential impact on teaching and student success.

It is also an attractive incentive for new teachers. For beginning teachers, it is no longer about taking the first job that comes along. It is about taking the first job where they feel like they can survive, and eventually thrive.