“Mentorship is a collaborative learning relationship and reflective process that is established together by a mentor-coach and a mentee. This co-created partnership, of ongoing support and challenge, evolves over time through structured conversations to facilitate engagement, capacity building, desired growth, and change.”
– Sharpe & Nishimura, 2017
What is Mentorship?
The Mentorship Program is a reciprocal learning partnership where all members are learners and leaders. It serves as a support to allow for collaboration time and learning partnerships to observe, model, co-teach, plan and reflect together. The SD22 Mentorship program is a multi-year opportunity for teachers who are new to the profession, new to our district or for those who have had a significant change to their teaching role. Teacher mentors will work collaboratively with colleagues to enhance professional learning communities and student learning. Mentees will spend time with their mentors to explore responsive teaching practices.
Mentee Categories:
Mentee Category | Year 1 | Year 2(applicable for ‘New to Profession’ and ‘New to District’) | Year 3(applicable for ‘New to Profession’) |
New to Profession |
OR
|
OR
|
OR
|
New to District |
OR
|
OR
|
|
Significant Role Change |
OR
|
|
|
* Receipts are required for submission and professional resources are approved in consultation with a Learning Coordinator.
New to the Profession (3 years or less)
Year 1 Mentees (shared between Mentee and Mentor) choose:
- 2 half day TOC release days for both Mentee and Mentor
OR
- 1 half day TOC release day for both Mentee and Mentor plus $250 for shared meals/professional resources*
* Receipts are required for submission and professional resources are approved in consultation with a Learning Coordinator.
Potential Options
- Meeting together for a morning
- Mentee observing Mentor
- Mentor observing Mentee
- Mentee observing other teacher
- Spend $250 on meals, coffee and/or professional resources
New to District
Year 1 Mentees (shared between Mentee and Mentor) choose:
- 2 half day TOC release days for both Mentee and Mentor
OR
- 1 half day TOC release day for both Mentee and Mentor plus $250 for shared meals/professional resources*
* Receipts are required for submission and professional resources are approved in consultation with a Learning Coordinator.
Potential Options
- Meeting together for a morning
- Mentee observing Mentor
- Mentor observing Mentee
- Mentee observing an other teacher
- Spend $250 on meals, coffee and/or professional resources
A Significant Change to your Role
What defines a significant role change?
- from primary to secondary
- non-enrolling to enrolling
- classroom teacher to SBRT
Mentees (shared between Mentee and Mentor) choose:
- 1 half day TOC release day for both Mentee and Mentor
OR
- $250 for shared meals/professional resources*
* Receipts are required for submission and professional resources are approved in consultation with a Learning Coordinator.
Potential Options
- Meeting together for a morning
- Mentee observing Mentor
- Mentor observing Mentee
- Mentee observing other teacher
- Spend $250 on meals, coffee and/or professional resources
"As a mentor, the collaboration and time to work with my mentee helps to keep my teaching practice current."
- Holly Fischer, Okanagan Landing Elementary
"As a new SBRT, the mentorship program allowed me to have focused time with a mentor to better understand the procedures and processes required in the SBRT role. The mentorship program helps to build connections between colleagues, gives newer teachers a designated person to reach out to for support, and provides time to explore pedagogy that could otherwise be more challenging to do without the program in place!"
- Makayla Smuin, W.L. Seaton Secondary
"The opportunity to collaborate, plan and learn from each other has set me up for success in my classes and has deepened the curriculum and opportunities I provide for my students that I may never have thought of without the mentorship program. Teaching and learning in a community is far more powerful than teaching in solitary. Mentorship has been a rewarding opportunity for me!"
- Nicola Nelson , Kalamalka Secondary
Mentorship Resources Recommended by Colleagues:
- Mentoring Minutes, a video series that takes you through the skill set of effective mentoring
- Mentoring Matters, by Laura Lipton, Bruce Wellman, and Carrlette Humbard
- The Art of Coaching, by Elena Aguilar
- Cognitive Coaching, by Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston
- Better Conversations, by Ted Knight
- The Coaching Habit, by Michael Bungay Stanier