Ellen Moir, of the New Teacher Center, calls it “mentoring lite,” and -- wouldn’t you know it? -- it doesn’t work.
That’s when, for example, a principal asks a roomful of teachers: “Who here would like to mentor a new teacher? Raise your hands.”
The volunteers later respond by placing little notes in their new buddies’ mailboxes, saying: “Have a nice day; call me if you need help.”
Smiley faces optional.
Moir and her colleagues at the New Teacher Center were in Washington, D.C., to call for something quite different: “comprehensive, high-quality, thoughtful” induction policies for new hires. Research by her group, based at the University of California, Santa Cruz, (see www.newteachercenter.org), shows that comprehensive mentoring not only dramatically increases teacher retention, it also makes these new teachers better faster -- thus improving student achievement. Indeed, according to NTC research, for every dollar spent on quality teacher mentoring, society saves $1.66 after five years.
So why are superintendents typically lukewarm to the idea? Moir suggests it’s because they have so much on their minds and are reluctant to invest significant dollars in a program whose true benefits may not appear for several years.
If that’s true, it’s shortsighted. And I’d hope that if superintendents are skeptical, their school boards would do their homework, research the issue, and bring those findings to their superintendent’s attention.
Of course, this all costs money. But NTC says it can also be a question of redirecting available funds. In addition, there are several bills in Congress to provide more federal money for new teacher support, including separate initiatives by Sen. Jack Reed, (D-R.I.) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).
“I have to be honest with you, it took me five years to be an effective teacher,” Amy Treadwell, a Chicago teacher now mentoring in a NTC-sponsored program, said at the briefing. Unfortunately, she added, “Those kids on the south side of Chicago don’t have five years: They don’t have five years for teachers to figure it out.”
Lawrence Hardy, Senior Editor