Setting Up a Mentoring Program

Documenting Its Effectiveness 

Evaluation and careful documentation help both to improve the effectiveness of mentoring and to justify the investment to policymakers and education's stakeholders. As you consider setting up a mentoring program, here are some questions to keep in mind:

1. How shall we determine what new teachers need most from the mentoring experience? Who will be involved in making this determination?
   
   
2. How will the district and its partners individualize the mentoring experience to meet the specific needs of each protégé?
   
   
3. How will the focus of mentoring change during the course of a protégé's involvement in the program? Will the mentoring program be divided into stages according to the evolving needs of the protégé?
   
   
4. Will the mentoring program provide remedial assistance to veteran teachers experiencing difficulties?
   
   
5. Will the mentoring program include peer review?
   
   
6. How will mentors interact with others in the district and with representatives of partnering organizations to ensure that protégés have access to comprehensive professional development opportunities, including assistance with curriculum content and student assessments?
   
   
7. How will mentors be assessed for their performance? Who will be involved in making this assessment?
   
   
8. What evidence will be used to evaluate and document the effectiveness of the program?

a. Student achievement data?
b. Indicators of teacher satisfaction?
c. Teacher retention data?
d. Decreased need for teacher remediation?
e. Cost-benefit data?
f. Anecdotal evidence?
g. Other indicators?

   9. Who should be involved in evaluating and documenting the mentoring program?

a. An independent program evaluator?
b. Mentors?
c. Protégés?
d. School administrators?
e. Teacher association leaders?
f. Others?

For more information on mentoring programs, see the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education's Creating a New Mentoring Program.

Source: NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1999. Creating a Teacher Mentoring Program

© Copyright 1999 NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education