North Carolina Mentoring Continuum

Mentor Standard 1: Mentors support beginning teachers to demonstrate leadership.

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Trusting Relationship	Has awareness of the need to maintain a confidential mentor relationship with the beginning teacher and the importance of mentor language	Respects confidential nature of mentor/beginning teacher relationship. Utilizes collaborative facilitative language when supporting the beginning teacher	Honors confidential relationship. Provides coaching support tailored to meet the needs of the beginning teacher	Upholds confidential relationship. Focus of coaching emerges from on-going dialogue with beginning teacher and mutually agreed upon next steps. Is responsive to the immediate and long-term needs of the beginning teacher
Leadership	Provides beginning teacher with a list of opportunities for leadership	Models shared leadership, encourages beginning teacher engagement in leadership activities, and reflects with the beginning teacher	Supports the beginning teacher’s involvement in school leadership opportunities	Assists the beginning teacher to assume leadership roles at school and district levels. Provides on-going coaching and support of leadership development
Communication and Collaboration	Exhibits effective communication skills	Assists the beginning teacher in developing the skills that would enable him/her to communicate effectively within collaborative settings and to develop positive working relationships	Supports the beginning teacher to use effective communication skills in collaboration with colleagues to improve teaching and learning	Nurtures the self-efficacy of the beginning teacher and his/her responsibility to utilize effective communication skills in collaborative dialogue to improve school effectiveness
Best Practices	Brings knowledge about best practices into conversations with beginning teachers	Provides resources for the beginning teacher on best practices with a primary focus on student learning	Models best practices with a focus on student learning while working collaboratively with the beginning teacher	Uses observations and data collection to provide clarification for the beginning teacher in implementing best practices with a primary focus on student learning
Ethical Standards	Is aware of ethical and professional standards	Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior in interactions with beginning teachers and school administration	Initiates collaborative dialogue with the beginning teacher regarding ethical and professional behavior	Exemplifies ethical and professional behavior and serves as a role model within the school and district community
Advocacy for Beginning Teachers and Students	Identifies and assists in locating instructional resources for the beginning teacher	Advocates for improving working conditions for the beginning teacher and his/her students when needed	Advocates for initiatives to improve education for all students. Coaches the beginning teacher on advocacy methods.	Advocates for positive change in policies and practices affecting student learning. Utilizes working conditions data to ground advocacy efforts

Mentor Standard 2: Mentors support beginning teachers to establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students.

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Relationships with Students	Supports the beginning teacher to become aware of the importance of building strong relationships with students	Provides the beginning teacher with strategies for effective communication with students individually and in groups. Share methods of learning more about students’ individual backgrounds, strengths, and needs	Collaborates with the beginning teacher to assess the effectiveness of communications and interactions with students and reflect on his/her impact on relationship and instruction	Supports the beginning teacher to solicit and utilize on-going feedback from students regarding teacher/student communications and interactions. Facilitates the beginning teacher’s reflection on the role of building and maintaining relationships with students and effective outcomes for learning
Relationships with Families	Brings awareness to the beginning teacher of the importance of communication with parents/families. Shares resources such as telephone logs, classroom newsletter/website design, and phone/email protocols	Supports the beginning teacher development of a home-school communication plan that establishes regular use of tools that promote effective communication with parents/families	Parents collaborate with the beginning teacher in the planning and implementation of parent-family conferences/communications. Reflects on effectiveness of interactions and communications to meet both the beginning teacher’s needs and the parents/family’s needs	Facilitates the beginning teacher’s development of a variety of lessons on school-related activities that regularly include families in the on-going process of identifying and improving student achievement
Relationships at School and in Community	Assists the beginning teacher to become familiar with faculty/staff. Shares availability of community resources	Introduces school and community partners/resources to the beginning teacher. Communicates context and history	Assists the beginning teacher with development of activities that foster collaboration between the school and the community	Fosters collaborative activities for the beginning teacher that includes and embraces the cultural norms of the community
Honor and Respect for Diversity	Informs the beginning teacher of the demographical composition of the school and community	Raises an awareness of the beginning teacher’s perspective and cultural inclusiveness as evidenced in the classroom	Introduces the beginning teacher to culturally inclusive practices	Engages the beginning teacher proactively around issues of diversity. Demonstrates culturally inclusive practices and guides the beginning teacher in developing his/her own

Mentor Standard 2 (continued)

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Developing Classroom Environments that Optimize Learning	Demonstrates knowledge about classroom rules, procedures and consequences	Assists the beginning teacher in developing classroom management plan in order to create and maintain a respectful inviting classroom community	Observes and provides specific feedback on: -Student behavior and engagement -Routines/Procedure -Instructional delivery -Classroom climate	Facilitates the beginning teacher’s understandings of specific student behaviors and use of strategies to address student needs and maintain engagement in learning activities
Reaching Students of all Learning Needs	Raises awareness of the ways that students are identified based on special needs	Supports the beginning teacher to lessons that take into account individual needs of students and promote student success	Guides the beginning teacher’s understandings of diversity and appropriate instructional resources/practices, such as differentiated instruction	Facilitates reflective dialogue with the beginning teacher on: -Preparatory and supportive work -Student/teacher interaction -Interpretation of student output -Development of multiple teaching strategies to best accommodate all learners

Mentor Standard 3: Mentors support beginning teachers to know the content they teach.

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Implementation of NCSCOS and 21st Century Goals	Demonstrates strong knowledge of NCSCOS for his/her own grade level/subject and is aware of the scope and sequence of the NCSCOS across grade levels/disciplines	Implements strategies in weekly conversations that demonstrate awareness and understanding of the NCSCOS. Facilitates designing lessons that link the NCSCOS with 21st Century skill development	Collaborates with the beginning teacher in on-going conversations on how to integrate 21st Century goals into the NCSCOS. Facilitates the beginning teacher’s active participation in professional learning communities	Facilitates the beginning teacher’s development of all strands of the NCSCOS and the scaffolding of the NCSCOS across grade levels/subjects. Utilizes weekly professional conversations and professional development to support the beginning teacher in reflecting upon the use of 21st century standards in the curriculum
Content and Curriculum	Provides NCSCOS for the beginning teacher. Is aware of the need to assist the beginning teacher in its use	Provides state and district curriculum resources and assists the beginning teacher in determining key concepts. Assists the beginning teacher in establishing appropriate pacing	Promotes networking by the beginning teacher within school and district to access a wide range of curriculum resources. Supports the beginning teacher in developing both short and long term curriculum plans	Supports the beginning teacher in designing lessons that show application of the content and demonstrate connections to life in the community

Mentor Standard 4: Mentors support beginning teachers to facilitate learning for their students.

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Instructional Practice	Informs and highlights for the beginning teacher the need for planning, implementing, and using assessments	Supports planning, implementation, and assessment efforts of the beginning teacher	Collaborates with the beginning teacher to improve instruction and learning based on assessments. Provides professional development in areas of need using the cycle of assistance: Preconference, Observe, Reflect	Facilitates the beginning teacher’s in depth analysis of student work and planning for differentiated instruction based on results. Provides on-going support and coaching for implementation
Professional Practice	Informs the beginning teacher of licensure requirements	Models and nurtures continual growth, professional ethics, norms of collaboration, equity and high expectations	Facilitates on-going conversation with groups of teachers on professional norms, continuing education and overall growth of students	Facilitates beginning teacher application of action research, case studies, and other resources such as book studies and community agents. Creates opportunities for the beginning teacher to talk with others about professional practice
Student Assessment	Brings awareness of achievement data sources to the beginning teacher. Exposes beginning teacher to school and district data. Ensures that the beginning teacher has the required assessments that accompany texts.	Models need for data to enhance teaching and improve student performance. Assists the beginning teacher in interpreting data gathered from informal and formal assessments and to apply results in planning and making adjustments in instructional delivery	Supports the beginning teacher in the development and use of tools to assess student work. Collaboratively plans differentiated instruction based upon results	Provides/leads professional development for beginning teachers on a range of assessment techniques and how to utilize the data to meet individual needs. Facilitates leadership of beginning teachers to inform colleagues of their learning regarding student assessment and designing responsive instruction

Mentor Standard 5: Mentors support beginning teachers to reflect on their practices.

Element	Developing	Proficient	Accomplished	Distinguished
Allocation and Use of Time with Beginning Teachers	Is aware of importance of meeting the beginning teacher and learning about his/her individual needs. Initiates introductions and offers availability for support	Supports the beginning teacher to attend a program orientation within first two weeks of employment. Meets with the beginning teacher at least twice monthly. Focuses coaching efforts on meeting individual needs	Meets with the beginning teacher prior to their start of the school year to support classroom planning/ preparation. Clarifies program information as needed. Regularly meets (face to face, virtually or through other medium that best meet the needs of beginning teachers) with the beginning teacher weekly and honors start and end times. Makes conscientious effort to use coaching skills and time effectively to meet individual needs	Meets with the beginning teacher prior to the start of the school year and meets at least twice per week. Provides the beginning teacher with additional ways to communicate and get support between scheduled meetings. Is dedicated to and skilled in providing quality coaching and targeted use of time to effectively meet individual needs
Reflective Practices	Relies on instructive approaches to tell the beginning teacher how to enhance instructional practice and student achievement	Utilizes instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to engage the beginning teacher to reflect and improve on practice	Blends instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to facilitate the beginning teacher’s use of reflection to self identify his/her instructional strengths and challenges and to engage in an on-going cycle of improvement	Orchestrates highly refined use of instructive, collaborative and facilitative approaches to enhance a beginning teacher’s ability to reflect on strengths and challenges. Nurtures the beginning teacher’s capacity to infuse reflection in his/her practice and to improve teaching and learning
Mentor Data Collection	Makes brief general observations of the beginning teacher’s classroom on multiple occasions to gather data on practice	Collaborates with the beginning teacher to conduct classroom observations and gathers general data on practice. Has brief reflective conversation with the beginning teacher regarding knowledge gained from the data	Observes the beginning teacher’s classroom regularly for both snapshot and formal visits to gather data. Collaborates with the beginning teacher to define a focus for data collection and to plan time to fully review the implications of the data	Utilizes a range of data collection tools to best capture information on the focus established by the beginning teacher. Facilitates conversation with the beginning teacher regarding the data collected and fosters reflection and next steps based on the data